German far-right lawmaker denies China bribery claims as offices searched

BERLIN (AFP) — German investigators searched the offices of far-right legislator Maximilian Krah on Thursday after Parliament lifted his immunity as part of an investigation into suspected bribe-taking from Chinese sources.

Krah, 48, of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party, has long been at the center of speculation over his alleged links to China.

In April 2024, a former aide to the AfD’s Krah, who at the time was a member of the European Parliament, was arrested in Brussels on suspicion of spying for Beijing.

Prosecutors allege that Jian Guo, a German national, worked for Chinese intelligence while employed in Krah’s office in Brussels, where he was an EU Parliament member from 2019 until early this year.

In May, prosecutors in the German city of Dresden also launched an investigation into Krah over alleged money laundering and bribery in connection with payments from China.

News weekly Der Spiegel has reported, citing the investigation file, that the AfD politician had allegedly received more than 50,000 euros ($58,000) from companies close to Guo between 2019 and 2022 alone.

The German Parliament on Thursday lifted Krah’s immunity and said in a statement it had “approved the execution of court search and seizure orders” against him.

Prosecutors in Dresden confirmed the searches were related to the bribery allegations.

“As part of this investigation, the accused’s office in the German Bundestag in Berlin and residential and business premises in Dresden are currently being searched with the support of Eurojust and the Belgian judiciary in Brussels,” they said in a statement.

Spying trial

Krah, in a statement posted on the X platform, called the allegations against him “absurd, fabricated and purely politically motivated.”

“The search of my offices is an attempt at intimidation, which I will defend myself against,” he said.

AfD leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla said “the lifting of his immunity and, in particular, the search of Mr. Krah’s office and private premises are serious matters.”

“As the AfD parliamentary group, we therefore expect a swift conclusion to the investigation and the publication of the results.”

Krah’s former aide Guo went on trial in August over the spying claims against him.

Giving evidence at the trial in Dresden last week, Krah denied having any knowledge of the alleged espionage.

“At no time was I warned by any public authority, whether from the Federal Republic (of Germany) or the EU, of any danger,” Krah said in the witness stand.

Security checks at the European Parliament were “very thorough,” he added, meaning that he assumed “everything would be fine.”

Krah said he had employed Guo because of his language skills and his experience running an import-export firm.

Krah has long been a highly controversial figure in German politics and has also been accused of illicit links to Russia, which he denies.

The accusations against his former aide — along with comments by Krah minimizing the crimes of the Nazis’ notorious SS paramilitaries — led to the AfD’s expulsion from the Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament in 2024.

Krah was later elected to the German Parliament in elections in February this year.

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By FEMKE COLBORNE Agence France-Presse