Due to espionage scandal

Brussels: Raid on AfD top candidate Krah

Krah at an EU election campaign appearance in Dresden on May 1st

(Bild: AFP/JENS SCHLUETER)

Two weeks ago, a long-time employee of Maximilian Krah, AfD top candidate for the European elections, was arrested on suspicion of espionage. Now Krah's offices in the EU Parliament in Brussels have been searched because of the case.

In the espionage proceedings against his employee Jian G., Krah is listed as a witness, not as a defendant, reports "Die Zeit", citing the German Federal Public Prosecutor General. The AfD politician denies having anything to do with his employee's espionage affair. G., a native of China, is strongly suspected of spying for the People's Republic of China.

Employee in custody
Specifically, the Federal Public Prosecutor General accuses him of "acting as an agent for a foreign secret service in a particularly serious case". Among other things, he is alleged to have passed on internal discussions about motions in parliament to employees of a Chinese secret service. The 43-year-old has been in custody since the end of April.

The Attorney General has obtained the approval of the European Parliament for the raid on the Altiero Spinelli building in the Belgian capital. It cannot be ruled out that the house search will reveal new details about the espionage scandal, which will also incriminate Krah himself. As a Member of the European Parliament, Maximilian Krah is protected by parliamentary immunity. He may only be investigated if this immunity is lifted.

The AfD federal board member is himself under investigation for possible links to Russia and China. In April, the public prosecutor's office in Dresden initiated preliminary investigations into suspected bribery in connection with Chinese and Russian payments.

Scandal overshadows election campaign
The espionage scandal is overshadowing the AfD's election campaign for the ballot on June 9. The party is trying to limit the damage. Following the arrest of Jian G., Maximilian Krah briefly refrained from making any campaign appearances. On May 1, he then appeared again in his home state of Saxony in the cities of Chemnitz and Dresden. In the newspaper "Welt", Krah called on his colleague to resign from the AfD. "G. should leave the AfD immediately, if only to avert further damage. If he fails to do so, expulsion from the party is inevitable," said the politician.

This story stinks beyond belief.

FPÖ-Spitzenkandidat Harald Vilimsky stellt sich hinter den mit ihm verbündeten Politiker.

Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH

The FPÖ has backed Krah in the affair. He sees the AfD as a "victim", FPÖ EU delegation leader Harald Vilimsky said recently, referring to the timing of the arrest of Krah's employee - just a few weeks before the European elections. "This story stinks unbelievably here," said Vilimsky. Krah had only been a guest at an event of the Identitarian Movement in Austria in January, which has been classified as far-right by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, and had taken part in an event in Vienna in February at Vilimsky's invitation.