AfD
Espionage allegations against employees: Krah remains the top candidate in the European elections
Maximilian Krah, AfD’s top candidate for the European elections, makes a press statement after speaking to the AfD parliamentary group leadership. One of Krah’s employees is suspected of spying for China.
© Michael Kappeler / DPA
The AfD leaders are discussing the consequences of the arrest of his employee on suspicion of espionage with AfD politician Maximilian Krah. The result: Krah remains the top candidate for the European elections.
AfD politician Maximilian Krah remains his party’s top candidate for the European elections despite an employee’s alleged Chinese spying. He had agreed with the party leadership that he would not be there at the start of the election campaign in Donaueschingen on Saturday, “but I am and will remain the top candidate,” said Krah on Wednesday in Berlin. “It’s now a matter of focusing the election campaign back on European issues and moving away from this very unpleasant matter.” He will immediately terminate the employee in question in his EU parliamentary office, who is now in custody.
Krah went on to say that he had no personal wrongdoing to accuse himself of. Apparently a crime was committed in his office. “It’s very unpleasant and it’s in my best interest to clear this up.” But it’s not like he did it. “I am very interested in the clarification and will endeavor to find out what exactly is being alleged. We will continue to work in my office to reconstruct everything that was processed by him during the period in question.”
Weidel and Chrupalla want to comment later
Krah called the conversation with Weidel and Chrupalla very friendly, constructive but appropriately serious for the matter. The two party leaders themselves initially did not want to comment when asked and referred to a statement planned later. The meeting in the AfD parliamentary group meeting room only lasted around 20 minutes. Krah then left the room alone.
After the arrest of an employee of the AfD top candidate is in custody on charges of spying for China. Jian G. was brought before an investigating judge on Tuesday evening, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced on Wednesday in Karlsruhe. He ordered pre-trial detention.
AfD employees are said to have collected data for China – this is how Maximilian Krah reacts to the allegations
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Krah’s employees are said to have passed on information to Chinese secret services
On Tuesday, the investigators informed about G’s arrest. He is accused of acting as an agent for a foreign secret service in a particularly serious case. The federal prosecutor’s office described G. as an “employee of a Chinese secret service.”
In January 2024, he is said to have repeatedly passed on “information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence client.” He is also said to have spied on Chinese opposition members in Germany for the secret service.
The EU Parliament in Brussels then suspended Krah’s employees with immediate effect. The Chinese government in Beijing rejected the allegations.
Note: This article has been updated.