Searches were carried out at the headquarters of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Hannover after two right-wing party politicians were stripped of their parliamentary immunity on suspicion of violating the law on party donations.
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The search began at 9 a.m. local time at the party headquarters in the Lower Saxony capital Hannover and followed the Landtag’s lifting of immunity from two party members and an investigation into them.
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The deprivation of immunity and searches are related to suspicion of undeclared donations in the personal account of one of the Landtag deputies from the AfD party, Ansgar Schledde. The amount of funds is 48 thousand euros.
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Schledde is deputy chairman of the AfD in Lower Saxony and intended to run for the post of party chairman this coming weekend. Previously, a number of German media reported that the AfD was likely providing promising positions on the electoral lists in exchange for cash payments, and that Schledde was allegedly involved in this.
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The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, accused the right-wing party of speaking out against EU policies and “admiring the Kremlin.”
