Officials in Bonn are counting pennies after raiding a woman thought to have hoarded around €40,000 in small-denomination coins she earned looking after public toilets – and failed to declare to the tax office.
The tabloid Express paper reported on Friday that the woman had operated in around 50 public toilets across Germany, paying a pittance to helpers to keep the loos clean and collect coins of gratitude from punters.
It seems her lack of generosity was her undoing and one of her helpers tipped off the state prosecutor, the paper reported.
When officials showed up to her house and rang the bell she ignored them, instead racing to the back of her home and throwing files out of the window.
When officials finally persuaded her to let them into the garage they found themselves knee deep in bags of coins – and called for a truck to take them away in, concerned that an ordinary car might not be able to take the weight.
Now they are busy counting the coins so they can proceed with the case.