Alleged BVB bus bomber denies attack in Dortmund

The German magazine "Der Spiegel" reported on Friday that Sergei W.'s lawyer, Reinhard Treimer, told the magazine his client denied responsibility for the April 11 bomb attack on the Borussia Dortmund bus that injured defender Marc Barta along with one police officer.

Read more: police arrest man suspected of BVB bus attack

Treimer's statement to the magazine marks the first known time that Sergei W. has spoken out in relation to the charges of attempted murder, causing an explosion, and serious bodily harm that he faces. Sergei W. is currently being held in investigative custody.

Treimer also told German radio public broadcasters NDR and WDR as well as the German daily "Süddeutsche Zeitung" (SZ) that his client denied a role in the act.

Evidence not explicit, but prosecutors convinced

The German Federal Public Prosecutor maintains that Sergei W. is "highly suspicious" in relation to the attack. But according to research by NDR, WDR and SZ, the examination of securely gathered evidence and materials has resulted in "no further explicit proof" up to this point.

Sergei W. is accused of having planted and detonated three explosive devices on April 11 along the road leading to the hotel where BVB players were staying. He allegedly used his cell phone to detonate the bombs from his hotel room as the soccer team's bus was driving to a Champions League match against AS Monaco.

The motivation for Sergei W.'s attack appears to have been greed. Earlier, on the day of the attack, the 38-year-old had borrowed money to purchase so-called "put option" shares on BVB, betting that the club share price would fall. A put option is an option contract giving the owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell a specified amount of an underlying security at a specified price within a specified time.

 According to the Office of the Federal Public Prosecutor, Sergei W. wanted to kill as many BVB players as possible in order to earn himself a massive windfall.

cmb/sms (AFP, SID)