The announcement of another large donation from abroad brings the German AfD even more in distress. As the right-wing populist party admitted last night, in February 150,000 euros went to an account of the AfD district association Bodenseekreis of parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel.
The amount is presumed to come from a Belgian foundation, but was ultimately not accepted and remitted. FDP and Greens raised serious allegations against the AfD.
About the donation from Belgium had first „Süddeutsche Zeitung“, NDR and WDR reported. As a result, the federal office of the AfD published a statement.
150,000 euros from apparently Belgian foundation
According to this, on 13 February this year, € 150,000 went to an account managed by the AfD District Association at Sparkasse Bodensee. The amount was transferred from a Foundation Identity Europe („Stichting Identiteit Europa“), according to AfD „apparently a Belgian foundation“.
The payment could indeed have been „accepted“ as a donation, according to the AfD federal office. „However, the AfD district association Bodenseekreis could determine neither the donor identity nor the donor motivation beyond doubt, which is why he finally decided not to accept the money from ‚Stichting Identiteit Europa‘.“ The Bundestag was therefore not informed about the donation. Rather, the amount on 9 May had been „returned in full“ to the sender.
Possible investigations against Weidel
The AfD was recently under pressure for dubious campaign donations from Switzerland. In the case could now be determined against the chairman Weidel. There is a suspicion of breach of the party law, said the prosecutor Konstanz. The repeal of parliamentarian immunity was already mentioned in the Bundestag
