AfD: Weidel district association paid dubious advisors

The district association of AfD top candidate Weidel has transferred money to a Berlin businessman known to the judiciary. Weidel denies that the man worked for her.

The AfD district association Bodenseekreis, home association of the AfD top candidate Alice Weidel, has transferred money to a dubious political advisor. This emerges from account records that the ARD political magazine Contrasts, the Correctiv Research Center and the “Spiegel”. In October 2017, around 1900 euros flowed from an account of the association under the subject “RG 359/2017” to the Berlin businessman O.

Weidel confirms friendship, but denies activity

It is worth noting the payment of the AfD to the entrepreneur against the background that Contrasts Weidel had asked in January 2020 whether the businessman O. had worked for her as a consultant. Weidel had denied this and pointed out that she was only on friendly terms with O. When asked why the businessman had Bundestag business cards on which he traded as Weidel’s “strategic advisor”, Weidel now stated that an originally planned advisory relationship had not come about. O. had “received business cards from my office in advance, which he should destroy,” said Weidel.

Until November 2019, the entrepreneur, who also operates as a “crisis manager”, had stated on his website that he “worked for numerous members of the Bundestag from the largest opposition party in the German Bundestag”. The largest opposition faction, then as now, was the AfD faction. His website also stated that he was “a direct advisor to the parliamentary group leaders in the German Bundestag”. He later changed the passage and wrote that he worked for numerous members of the Bundestag from various parties – the political advisor wanted to find out which party it was Contrasts-Don’t answer the demand.

Weidel names rental car costs as the reason for payment

When asked what the reason for paying the amount to O., Weidel informed the “Spiegel”, Correctiv and Contrasts with: “Mr. O. (Name abbreviated by the editors) had taken care of a rental car at the time, which I needed to complete my campaign appearances and media appointments before the 2017 federal election. The amount he had advanced for it was returned to him by the district party. “

A Weidel’s spokesman neither wanted to confirm nor rule out whether there had been any further payments to the businessman. This still has to be clarified, “but it was not about higher amounts,” said the spokesman. The entrepreneur let a law firm announce that it is not part of his business practice to “disclose information about customers and / or individual business processes to the public”.

Charges of joint fraud against O.

O. should go to Contrasts-Information to have multiple criminal records, this emerges from an indictment by the Gera public prosecutor. The authority accuses O. of having used unauthorized office and service titles. O. denies this. In addition, the Bielefeld public prosecutor’s office brought charges against O. in February 2021 on suspicion of joint fraud in connection with two vehicle financings, although one case is said to have remained with the attempt. In terms of content, O. did not comment on these allegations upon request. It is not known whether Ms. Weidel is aware of the events.

The account from which Weidel’s AfD district association transferred money to O. is the same one that was also the subject of an affair involving illegal party donations from Switzerland. 132,000 euros were received in the summer of 2017 in pieces. The Bundestag administration therefore imposed a fine of around 400,000 euros.