BERLIN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Public prosecutors in the German city of Luebeck have closed their investigation into Prokon-founder Carsten Rodbertus for fraud and embezzlement on Wednesday.
The public persecution office reached the conclusion that the controversial wind energy company did not amount to a pyramid scheme, a spokesperson confirmed.
Although Prokon only generated at best half of the returns with which it had originally lured investors, the wind parks could still be considered to offer long-term yields.
The decision comes more than three years after the insolvency of Prokon in May 2014. At that point, the company had convinced 75,000 investors to purchase profit participation rights worth 1.4 billion euros (1.67 billion U.S. dollars) in total.
Prokon has been run as a cooperative with almost 40,000 members since officially being declared bankrupt.
However, the spokesperson also noted that judicial proceedings were still underway against three former Prokon directors. The public prosecutor's office was unable to provide further information due to its classified nature.
Rodbertus refused to comment on the development and ongoing investigations into the company he founded.
Prokon currently operates 340 wind power plants in Germany and Poland with a capacity of 600 Megawatt, supplying roughly 30,000 households with energy in the region. Recent figures indicated gross annual revenue below 100 million euros (119 million dollars).
