Borussia Dortmund bus attack: German police arrest man suspected of planting explosives

FRANKFURT- German police arrested a man on Friday who is suspected of planting explosives targeting the bus of soccer team Borussia Dortmund last week, the office of the German federal chief prosecutor said.

The 28-year old man, a dual German and Russian national identified as Sergei V., had bought options on Borussia Dortmund`s stock before the attack, hoping to make a profit, it said in a statement.

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

The suspect is accused of attempted murder, inflicting serious bodily harm and causing an explosion, the prosecutor`s office said.

It said he had bought 15,000 put options, or contracts giving him the right to sell Borussia Dortmund`s shares at a pre-determined price, on the day of the attack, using a consumer loan he had signed the previous week.

"If the shares of Borussia Dortmund had fallen massively, the profit would have been several times the initial investment," the prosecutor`s office said.

The serious injury or death of any of the soccer players could have resulted in such a slump, it said.

In December, a Tunisian man killed 12 people when he ploughed a truck through a Berlin Christmas market.

Security is an issue in campaigning for Germany`s federal election on Sept. 24, a tight battle in which Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking a fourth term.

Last year, Merkel lost support to the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after opening the country`s doors to more than a million migrants. The AfD has since seen its ratings fall while Merkel has regained some ground.