The General State Prosecutor’s Office in Dresden has reportedly submitted an application to lift the immunity of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician Maximilian Krah in the ongoing investigation into alleged espionage by Chinese intelligence agencies in Germany. According to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (Saturday edition), the General State Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to the newspaper on Friday that they initiated an investigation against Krah on Thursday. The newspaper reports that the prosecution authority grounds its application to lift immunity on the initiation of the investigation into the charges of bribery as a European Parliament (EU) member and money laundering in connection with payments from Chinese sources. Krah’s former assistant in the EU Parliament is accused of working for a Chinese intelligence agency and he has been in detention since April 2024. He is accused of passing on sensitive information from the EU Parliament and compiling dossiers on leading AfD politicians, according to the allegations. Krah told the newspaper that he is being accused of representing his former assistant legally and paying for the invoices. Krah denies the accusation that he received money in an unobtrusive manner through the invoices. “The accusations are absurd and politically motivated” Krah explained. At the core of the matter is that he acted as a lawyer and issued invoices to clients. “Of course, I have not committed any crime” said Krah, who was the top candidate for the AfD in the last European election and currently serves as a member of the Bundestag.
Could AfD Leader’s Immunity Be Stripped in Spying Scandal?
