Germany Controversy over large donation for German AfD
The right-wing populist AfD in Germany has rejected reports of a potentially illegal large donation to the party.
19.02.2025, 10:47
SDA
"The AfD strictly adheres to the legal requirements when accepting party donations and is also in close contact with the Bundestag administration," explained a spokesperson for party leader Alice Weidel.
According to the AfD, the major donor, who is the subject of reports in the news magazine "Der Spiegel", the Austrian "Standard" and the ZDF program "frontal", has assured that the donation came from his own assets and "in particular was not made on behalf of third parties". Disguising the origin of party donations via third parties - so-called straw men - is a violation of German party law.
The background to the current reports is a donation of around 2.35 million euros that the AfD reported to the Bundestag administration. According to research by "Spiegel", "Standard" and ZDF, it is suspected that the million-euro transaction was merely passed on.
According to the reports, there are investigations in Austria according to which the official donor is said to have previously received a donation of a similar amount from a third party. Neither the official donor nor the Austrian investigating authorities have been available for comment so far.
