Money for propaganda?

Russia affair: offices in the EU Parliament raided

Belgian police officers prepare to carry out a search in the EU Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Belga/LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ)

Investigators searched the offices of an ex-employee of German AfD MEP Maximilian Krah in the EU Parliament on Wednesday. The raid took place in connection with allegations of influence peddling from Russia. Money is said to have flowed to AfD politicians. In a reaction, Green Party leader Werner Kogler spoke of "Putin's Trojan horse in the EU".

According to investigators, the authorities searched Guillaume P.'s offices in Brussels and Strasbourg as well as his private residence in Brussels. According to the Belgian public prosecutor's office, the investigations are connected to the Russian propaganda network around the "Voice of Europe" website.

MEPs deny allegations
According to Czech media reports, money is said to have flowed to European politicians via the Prague-based internet portal. In this context, accusations have also been made against AfD MP and leading candidate Krah as well as list runner-up Petr Bystron. Both deny accepting Russian money.

A police car in front of the European Parliament building in Brussels, where searches were carried out due to suspected Russian interference.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Belga/LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ)

The name of former Krah employee Guillaume P. has also been mentioned in connection with "Voice of Europe". He now works for the Dutch MP Marcel de Graaff, who, according to media reports, has already been involved in Russian influence operations. In the past, Frenchman P. has attracted attention with anti-Semitic statements and images. In 2019, he was expelled from the right-wing populist party Rassemblement National after one such incident.

Consequences for the AfD
At the beginning of the month, the authorities had already searched the premises of Krah employee Jian G., who has since been arrested and is accused of spying for China. The party leadership of the AfD (Alternative for Germany) has banned Krah from appearing at party events and excluded him from most of the election campaign. The right-wing populist group "Identity and Democracy" (ID) in the European Parliament excluded all AfD mandataries last Thursday with reference to Krah, among others.

In initial reactions, the Austrian Greens emphasized the suspected involvement of European right-wing populists with Russia and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. "The latest house searches in the European Parliament show once again that the far-right parties are Putin's Trojan horse in the EU," wrote Green Party leader and Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler on Platform X. There is still an urgent need to clarify whether leading FPÖ politicians were accomplices or just "useful idiots", he emphasized, referring to a report by the magazine "Politico".

"Vilimsky and Co. firmly at Putin's side"
"Far-right parties are helping Putin to spread disinformation and weaken democracy throughout Europe", added EU top candidate Lena Schilling in a press release. The list runner-up and co-leader of the European Greens, Thomas Waitz, directly attacked the Freedom Party in this context: "The FPÖ is also at the forefront when it comes to defending Russia: Vilimsky and Co. are standing staunchly by Putin's side even after the war of aggression on Ukraine and keep tabling pro-Russian motions to whitewash Russia."