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Finance Minister and SPD candidate for Chancellor Scholz
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Christoph Soeder / picture alliance / dpa
After the search in the Federal Ministry of Finance, which he led, criticism of the SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz increased. "In connection with the public prosecutor's investigations in his ministry, Mr. Scholz urgently needs to ensure full clarification and transparency," said CDU General Secretary Paul Ziemiak to SPIEGEL. Green leader Robert Habeck also asked SPIEGEL to provide complete clarification from Scholz. Before that, Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet had already sharply criticized his competitor.
Investigators searched the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice, which is also run by the SPD, in Berlin on Thursday. The background to this was an investigation by the Osnabrück public prosecutor's office against the customs office for money laundering (FIU). It belongs to the portfolio of the Ministry of Finance. The FIU is accused of failing to forward money laundering reports from banks to investigative authorities.
"There are a lot of questions that the SPD candidate for Chancellor has to answer," said General Secretary Ziemiak. "That Mr. Scholz again leaves the German public in the dark unfortunately fits into the picture." After the cum-ex tax deals and after the Wirecard affair, this is "the next case where Mr. Scholz is obviously entangled in excuses", said the CDU politician on. »Mr Scholz has no control over his ministry or the authorities in his area of responsibility. He has to explain himself immediately. "
Greens boss Habeck told SPIEGEL: "We need a complete clarification of the events," until then, of course, the presumption of innocence applies.
"But politically, one has to state that Germany is a money laundering paradise across Europe," said Habeck, who is said to have ambitions for the Ministry of Finance if his party's participation in government.
"The efforts of the grand coalition, especially the finance minister, to effectively combat financial crime have obviously not been intense enough in recent years," said Habeck.
It is about "relevant security issues," said Habeck: "Organized crime and terrorist financing are a threat to security in the country."
Scholz was irritated by the raid
In an initial reaction, Finance Minister Scholz had shown himself to be irritated by the searches and said that if the investigators had questions for his department, they "could have asked them in writing". On Friday a spokesman for his ministry confirmed: "The usual way is to request information from the authorities." However, he emphasized: "We fully support the authorities" and "of course provide all the necessary documents." Scholz had already promised a corresponding cooperation on Thursday.
Nevertheless, further sharp criticism came from the CDU on Friday.
"The change of the FIU under the supervision of the BMF should strengthen the fight against money laundering, not weaken it," said Günter Krings, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the SPIEGEL.
"It is an immeasurable disappointment that the Federal Minister of Finance has not eliminated the problems of this unit despite many reports from the judiciary and other ministries," said the CDU politician.
"The fact that Mr. Scholz now wants to accuse German public prosecutors and judges of manipulating the Bundestag election is a scandal in itself."
Laschet also criticizes Scholz
Union Chancellor candidate Laschet also commented on the raid in the ministry led by his SPD competitor at a press appearance on Friday. As a reaction to the raid, "telling the public prosecutor what they would have done better is usually only known from populist states," said the CDU chief. Such behavior should "not be adopted as a style characteristic," Laschet continued.
Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer also addressed Scholz. At the meeting with her fellow party member Laschet, the CDU politician said that the case was "about preventing punishment in the office against organized money laundering." Her accusation of the SPD candidate for Chancellor: "And the only reaction I have heard from someone who wants to become Chancellor in this country is that he is disgruntled." Kramp-Karrenbauer complained "what a signal that is in the direction of all the men and women in the police and in the public prosecutor's office."
The Green finance expert Sven Giegold from the European Parliament accused Scholz of failing in the fight against financial crime, while money laundering and tax fraud caused billions in damage to the common good.
In particular, "every victim attitude of Olaf Scholz after the search by the public prosecutor is out of place," said Giegold of the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung".
Scholz emphasizes cooperation with investigators
On the sidelines of a meeting of EU finance ministers in Kranj, Slovenia, the SPD politician himself reassured that his ministry would work closely with the investigative authorities in the case, "as it should be."
Scholz also emphasized the efforts made in the fight against money laundering over the past few years.
All the prerequisites have been created "that we have very good supervision," said the SPD candidate for chancellor.
In doing so, against much resistance, he had succeeded in asserting that the money laundering special unit FIU had received additional competencies.
In addition, this has been massively increased in terms of personnel.
ama / flo / val / AFP
