Dortmund bus attack: suspect arrested as police allege financial motive

Authorities believe a 28-year-old man staged the attack in the hope that stock in the club would fall to his financial benefit.

The bus post-attack (AAP) Source: EPA

German police have arrested a man suspected of having planted a bomb that exploded near the bus of football team Borussia Dortmund, the office of the federal chief prosecutor said.

The 28-year old man, who has dual German and Russian nationality, is accused of 20 accounts of attempted murder, inflicting serious bodily harm and causing an explosion, it said in a statement.

The players’ bus was heading to their stadium for a Champions League match against Monaco on 11 April when three explosions occurred, wounding Spanish defender Marc Bartra and delaying the match by a day.

According to Bild, a German newspaper, the suspect allegedly bought options to short sell 15,000 shares of Borussia Dortmund stock for 78,000 euros ($83,600). He would have profited from the transaction if the price for shares of the team fell. 

The share price did fall from 5.738 euros to a low of 5.421 after the attack. 

The German attorney general said in a statement that the man hoped to gain financially from the attack. Police believe the man acquired 15,000 so-called put options (which rise in value as a stock’s value falls) on Borussia Dortmund shares which he hoped would fall in the event of players being killed or injured.