"Debris of my life's work" - The deep fall of Alfons Schuhbeck

Star chef Alfons Schuhbeck has extended his confession in the tax evasion trial and admitted all charges. Now he has also admitted computer manipulation in his restaurant "Südtiroler Stuben" on Platzl in Munich. Missing invoice numbers in the cash register system are "also due to computer manipulations, for which I am ultimately responsible," said the restaurateur on Friday before the Munich I Regional Court. "There is no third party responsible for this."

According to the indictment, he is said to have withdrawn around 4.4 million euros in cash from the tills of his restaurants. Schuhbeck had already made an extensive confession on Wednesday, but mainly related to his other restaurant "Orlando". At the time, he only assumed general responsibility for the "Südtiroler Stuben" and stated that he could not remember how the manipulations had actually taken place.

“I am aware that I face imprisonment. That puts a lot of strain on me and scares me, ”said Schuhbeck. The public prosecutor's office accuses the 73-year-old of having smuggled income past the tax office with the help of a computer program, among other things. In total, there are more than 2.3 million euros in taxes that Schuhbeck is said to have evaded between 2009 and 2016 in the "Orlando" and in the "Südtiroler Stuben".

He subsequently changed accounts and manipulated receipts with a USB stick. In view of the amount of damage, Schuhbeck faces a prison sentence of more than a year, which he would have to serve in the Landsberg prison - the same prison as Uli Hoeneß.

In July 2021, the star chef had to file for bankruptcy for his business. He is considered to be heavily in debt. In 1994, Schuhbeck was sentenced to one year in prison and a fine for tax evasion.

"I fooled myself, my friends and defense attorneys until the very end because I didn't want to admit that I had failed entrepreneurially," Schuhbeck said in court. "The kitchen is my home. I work every day from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. But I'm not a good businessman. I am standing in front of the ruins of my life's work".