Prosecutors: Man arrested for Dortmund bombing was looking to profit off explosion
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A window of Dortmund's team bus is damaged after an explosion before the Champions League quarterfinal soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco in Dortmund, western Germany, Tuesday, April 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A 28-year-old man identified only asSergej W has been arrested for the bombing of the Borussia Dortmund team bus earlier this month, with prosecutors saying thatthe motive was profit and not radical Islam, as was first believed.
In a statement issued on Friday, prosecutors say that the man, who has both Russian and German nationality, had bought thousands of"put options" -- bets that a stock would fall -- on the club, guessing that its stock would fall precipitously after the explosion. He allegedly stood to make a large profit before his arrest.
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He was staying at the team's L'Arrive hotel in Dortmund on the day of the attack and had moved to a room on the top floor, overlooking the street where it took place, prosecutors say.
The suspect placed the bet on 11 April using an IP address traced to the hotel, after taking out a loan for the money.
The explosion took place on April 11 and led to the delay of Dortmund's Champions League quarterfinal first leg match against Monaco. Dortmund defender Marc Bartra underwent wrist surgery following the explosion.
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Police first believed the bomber had ties to radical Islam due to a note left at the scene, though the investigation cast doubt on the note's legitimacy, as police reportedly came to believe it had been planted there to try and dupe them.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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