Solinger Economic Development's Director got booted out, immediately.
A surprising departure
Nearly ten months post his suspension, Frank Balkenhol, the big cheese at Economic Development Solingen GmbH & Co. KG, has been shown the door. According to various media reports, his departure was rather abrupt. The reasons behind this decision, however, remain elusive as neither the city administration nor the economic development agency themselves are ready to shed light on it. Frank Balkenhol's lawyer, Martin Wagner, shared with the press that a legal challenge is underway to contest this dismissal.
The catalyst for this controversy was a large-scale nationwide raid in April 2024, which saw the Solingen Foreigners' Office and the Economic Development themselves being searched. Initially, the public prosecutor's office insisted there were no specific suspects. However, this statement was later corrected: Investigators were indeed scouring the workplaces and homes of a city employee and an employee of a municipal company, both of whom have since been identified as official suspects. The presumption of innocence continues to apply to them, though.
Key figures in the investigation are still a Solingen businessman and a lawyer from the Cologne area. Both are said to have cultivated robust ties with the Solingen Economic Development. With Frank Balkenhol's dismissal, there arise further questions about potential links to the smuggling affair.
Martin Wagner, Frank Balkenhol's lawyer, appeared taken aback by the dismissal during a media interview: "We were caught off guard as there was no new development," explained Wagner. The dismissal was executed without any justified reasons, so a legal battle is now on the horizon. Wagner confirmed that an internal hearing transpired, but it bore no relation to the ongoing investigation. The protracted nature of a potential court case at the Regional Court, owing to Balkenhol's position, was also indicated by Wagner.
For now, the city chooses to stay mum: Mayor Daniel Wieneke (SPD), who has temporarily taken charge of Economic Development, shared that no comment could be made due to labor and personal rights considerations. The city, however, did offer one piece of information: There had been no criminal complaint lodged by a member of the administrative board regarding incidents surrounding the Founder and Technology Centre. SPD councilor Markus Preuss had raised this question in the city council's latest meeting.
The Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office, responsible for the investigation, has remained silent in response to our inquiry. The nature of the affair remains shrouded in mystery for the time being — likely to stir Solingen's politics and public life for some time to come.
As of December 2023, there are no widely reported or documented cases involving Frank Balkenhol in a smuggling investigation or a dismissal related to such allegations in major German or international news outlets available in the public record. If you possess more specific details or a date of the incident, I could provide more targeted information or context. If this is a hypothetical question, such speculation would not be rooted in actual events as currently documented.
- The controversial dismissal of Frank Balkenhol, despite no reported or documented cases of smuggling involvement in general-news outlets, has raised questions about potential links between his business in economic development and crime-and-justice issues.
- There seems to be a significant connection between the ongoing smuggling investigation and the Solingen Economic Development, as key figures include a Solingen businessman and a lawyer from the Cologne area, who are reported to have robust ties with the Economic Development agency, leading to speculation in Solingen's business and political circles.
