Self-declared 'king of Germany' jailed for embezzling £1m from 'subjects'

A man who declared himself the "King of Germany" has been jailed for setting up an illegal bank and embezzling euro €1.3m (£1.1 m) of deposits.

Peter Fitzek declared himself King of Germany in 2012, installing his "kingdom" in an abandoned hospital in the eastern German town of Wittenberg.

A bizarre video of his coronation was posted online.

Fitzek gained a following of hundreds, who became his "subjects" and deposited their money into savings accounts in an illegal bank he opened. Almost 600 people deposited €1.7m into the bank. Fitzek spent €1.3m.

He was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.

Fitzek had denied the charges, claiming that he used the money for the good of his community.

Judge Ursula Mertens retorted: "You, Mr Fitzek, have done nothing for the common good. You have used the money on yourself," reported AFP.

Fitzek, who called himself Peter I, became furious when the verdict was announced, hurling insults at the judge, Deutsche Welle reported.

It is not the first time Fitzek has run into trouble with the law. In 2016 he was caught driving without a licence for the eighth time, claiming that he had abandoned it in favour of one he had authorised himself.

He has also been convicted of running an illegal health insurance scheme.

Fitzek is believed by German intelligence to a member of the far-right "Reichsburger" movement, who view the post-war German state as illegal.

Once viewed as harmless cranks, Reichburger extremists have in recent months been involved with violent clashes with police, with an officer killed in a raid on a Reichsburger home in Georgensgmünd in October, 2016. In the wake of the killing, the German government pledged a crackdown on the movement.