2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
The business fuel card should not be used for private purposes. Whoever bills his employer for the fuel costs is committing fraud, as a recent judgment shows.
Employees who submit fuel receipts to their employer without any indication of the improper use of their business fuel card can be liable to prosecution for fraud. This has now been decided by the higher regional court in Celle.
Damage of 37,500 euros
In the negotiated case, six employees of a transport company had refueled other trucks with the fuel cards given to them by the company and received money from the respective drivers. They then submitted the fuel receipts to their employer, who suffered a total loss of around 37,500 euros. After the regional court had taken the view that the alleged act was not punishable under any legal aspect, the higher regional court (OLG) Celle now made it clear that there was sufficient suspicion of fraud.
The employees handed their employers the receipts without informing them that they had exceeded the agreed usage limit by refueling other trucks. As a result of this error, the petrol stations were billed and, according to the legal experts at ARAG, the employer suffered a corresponding financial loss (OLG Celle, Az. 1 Ws 277/10). (mid)
