The Foreign Minister and the Minister of Economy, among the suspects
The Berlin prosecutor’s office is investigating the six members of the executive of the governmental Los Verdes party for alleged embezzlement from the formation itself. Spiegel Online reveals this Wednesday that among those investigated are the federal deputy chancellor and superminister for Economy and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, and the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, co-chairs of the environmental party. The investigation by prosecutors in the German capital is related to the payment of an extraordinary premium for the coronavirus pandemic of 1,500 euros that each of the six members of the Greens executive received in 2020.
The prosecution itself confirms in the digital edition of the weekly Der Spiegel the opening of an investigation “against members of the federal executive of Los Verdes for the initial suspicion of embezzlement” and that “the object of the procedure is the approval of a ‘corona bonus’ by the members of the federal executive to themselves in the year 2020.” The public accusation indicated that its intervention has taken place after a criminal complaint filed by individuals and based on press information published last year and in which the existence of these extraordinary payments with party funds was revealed.
The bonuses were, however, criticized and denounced by internal account inspectors, since this type of extraordinary payment is not contemplated in the party’s statutes. The ruling party also confirmed the prosecutors’ investigation. “The affected executive members and the federal central office cooperate extensively with the prosecution to fully clarify the matter,” the Greens said in a statement. The federal executive is the highest managing body of the environmentalist party and “from the point of view of those involved, it was legitimate to make such decisions,” added a party spokesman. The six members of the federal executive have meanwhile returned the premium received in 2020.
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