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Patricia Schlesinger
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Hendrik Schmidt / picture alliance / dpa
For weeks there have been allegations against the director of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) Patricia Schlesinger – now the ZDF investigative magazine »Frontal 21« apparently wants to report on it, as the »Süddeutsche Zeitung« (SZ) writes.
According to SZ, the fact that the two large public-law institutions reported critically about each other is "by no means usual".
The RBB hasn't calmed down since the online portal "Business Insider" recently published detailed allegations against the broadcaster and Schlesinger.
The allegations relate, for example, to an allegedly incorrect billing of business dinners at Schlesinger and the employment of consultants for an RBB real estate project, who are said to come from the environment of the chairman of the board of directors, Wolf-Dieter Wolf.
Schlesinger and Wolf have denied the allegations.
Last Friday, another “Business Insider” post raised new allegations against Schlesinger: According to this, the RBB director had benefited from “questionable company car privileges”.
Schlesinger is said to have received an Audi A8 worth around 145,000 euros at a preferential price.
The RBB, on the other hand, spoke of a “company discount customary in the industry”.
The RBB director is also said to have used her company car for private trips.
The ZDF editorial team sent the ARD state institutions a catalog with questions about the allegations, writes the SZ.
This would be in the newspaper.
Accordingly, the editors expect an answer by Wednesday, including questions about a possible resignation of the director.
According to the current status, Schlesinger will also be the ARD chairman until the end of 2023.
RBB wants to set up a whistleblower system
The RBB now wants to set up a whistleblower system to deal with the allegations.
This should enable the station's staff to make anonymous reports, as the board of directors announced.
»Further regulations ensure that no sanctions can be imposed on employees for making statements in the examination process.«
In a service instruction, unrestricted cooperation with the investigating law firm is requested.
Schlesinger promised the anonymous whistleblower system in an interview with the Tagesspiegel at the end of July.
The examination of the documents by external specialist lawyers will take at least six to eight weeks, it said.
It is primarily, but not exclusively, about Schlesinger and Wolf.
The head of the board of directors is leaving his office during the investigation, Dorette König will take over during this time.
The Board of Directors accompanied the examination "very closely," it said.
"All allegations are being investigated without exception."
The Berlin public prosecutor had recently stopped investigations against Schlesinger.
A reason given to the “Tagesspiegel” stated that “the necessary initial suspicion was denied”.
The AfD faction in the Brandenburg state parliament had previously filed criminal charges against Schlesinger, Wolf and Schlesinger's husband, former SPIEGEL journalist Gerhard Spörl.
The German Association of Journalists (DJV) had asked Schlesinger for comprehensive transparency after the allegations became known.
The allegations have the potential "to massively shake the credibility of public service broadcasting," said DJV national chairman Frank Überall.
As examples, he named "consultant contracts in need of explanation, the billing of hospitality in one's own four walls or finally questions about the company car".
The company car allegations against the RBB director are "the icing on the mountain of open questions".
kko/dpa
