The next lobby suspicion in the Bundestag: The immunity of the CDU politician Axel Fischer has been lifted.
He is accused of creating a despot for money.
Berlin / Munich - Political Berlin is experiencing the next lobby scandal shortly after the Nüßlein case: the Bundestag lifted the immunity of CDU MP Axel Fischer on Thursday.
According to the Bundestag, the plenary unanimously approved the “execution of judicial search and seizure orders”.
The starting point was a letter from the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office.
This announced on Thursday on request that it was investigating the initial suspicion of bribery of elected officials.
Lobby scandal in the Bundestag: After Nüßlein - Bundestag lifts immunity for other Union MPs
The matter appears to be related to possible lobbying activities by Fischer for the government of Azerbaijan.
The Karlsruhe CDU politician rejected the allegations.
"That will be cleared up, but of course my reputation will be ruined by then," he told the
Augsburger Allgemeine
.
The decision of the Bundestag followed the recommendations of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Fischer described the allegations as "baseless".
Regarding its content, he said: “They unearthed something old about Azerbaijan.” According to
Business Insider
magazine
, the investigators want to find out whether Fischer made positive comments about Azerbaijan in return for monetary payments.
They also confiscated documents in the Bundestag.
Azerbaijan: lobbying network with the Union?
60 officials in investigations against CDU MP Fischer
The authoritarian regime of Azerbaijan tried to polish up its image and tried to get closer to German politicians.
It's about a lobby network that the former CSU State Secretary Eduard Lintner is said to have established.
The CDU MP Karin Strenz is said to have campaigned conspicuously for the concerns of the dictator Ilham Abijew.
Last year, in connection with lobbying activities, the rooms of Strenz and Lintner were examined by the police.
According to the information, the Federal Criminal Police Office has now searched six properties in Baden-Württemberg and Berlin, including the representative office in the Bundestag, apartments and business premises.
A total of around 60 officials from the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Criminal Police Office are on duty.
This was preceded by extensive investigative measures directed against former and active members of the Bundestag who were part of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
CDU man Fischer: Serious allegations - received money from Azerbaijan via detours?
"You are accused of having received funds from Azerbaijan, among other things, via British mailbox companies with Baltic accounts between 2008 and 2016," said the public prosecutor's office.
"Associated with this was the request to exert influence in the interests of delegates from the state of Azerbaijan in motions and votes on various resolutions as well as in filling functions and commissions of the Council of Europe."
Only last week the Bundestag lifted the immunity of CSU MP Georg Nüßlein.
He is suspected of corruption in connection with the procurement of corona protective masks.
Nüßlein’s immunity was also lifted due to search and seizure orders.
Against this background, the GroKo parliamentary groups probably only agreed on a lobby register on Wednesday - after months of wrangling.
In the case of Azerbaijan, however, the LobbyControl association sees responsibility primarily with the Union.
“It is positive that the prosecution is making progress with its investigation.
But it is also an indictment of the Union, ”said Ulrich Müller from LobbyControl on Thursday.
The CDU / CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag had shown no interest in clearing up the scandal.
For the future, among other things, stricter rules of conduct for members of the Bundestag are necessary.
(
dpa / AFP / fn
)
