Football
Associated Press 7y

Borussia Dortmund bus attack had no terrorist motive - federal prosecutors

German federal prosecutors say they are handing off the investigation of last month's attack on the Borussia Dortmund team bus after determining that there was no terrorist motive.

Federal investigators said on Tuesday that Dortmund prosecutors are taking over the probe of the April 11 attack on the team's bus as it was bringing the squad from their hotel to the home leg of their Champions League quarterfinal match against Ligue 1 club Monaco.

The match at the Westfalenstadion was postponed until the following day. Monaco won that match 3-2 and the return leg 3-1 to progress to the semifinals, where they were eliminated by Juventus.

A 28-year-old German-Russian man was arrested April 21. In keeping with German privacy law, the suspect was identified only as Sergej W.

Prosecutors have said he took out a five-figure loan to bet that Borussia Dortmund shares would drop, then bombed the bus in an attack he tried to disguise as Islamic terrorism.

Federal prosecutors said the attack apparently was committed "solely because of financial interests" so the case can't be considered "a crime against the state of particular significance," which would make it their responsibility.

Dortmund defender Marc Bartra, who suffered a wrist injury in the attack, last week returned to the playing squad for the first time since the incident.

^ Back to Top ^