The Bavarian politicians Alfred Sauter and Georg Nüßlein are allowed to keep the millions in commission for the procurement of protective masks at the beginning of the corona pandemic. Such activity by politicians does not fall under the ban on bribery or corruption of elected officials, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled in a decision published on Tuesday, thereby ultimately rejecting the complaints of the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office (Az.: StB 7-9/22) A further contestation of the decision is now no longer permissible.
She confiscated 1.24 million euros from CSU member of parliament Sauter and 660,000 euros from his former party colleague and former member of parliament Nüßlein. They had received the money for their services as profit-sharing. Nüßlein resigned from the CSU after the allegations became known, Sauter was urged to resign from his party offices, but remains a member of the Bavarian state parliament.
The arrest warrant against the entrepreneur, whom you helped sell the masks to the Bavarian Ministry of Health, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Health for more than 60 million euros, has also been lifted.
According to the will of the legislature, only the acceptance of consideration for actions “in the performance of the mandate” is punishable by politicians, i.e. for votes in parliament, in committees or in the parliamentary group, the judges of the 3rd criminal senate found. Paragraph 108e of the Criminal Code does not cover the fact that MPs exercise their influence outside of political work. “If the legislature should recognize a criminal liability gap, it is up to them to decide whether they want to leave it in place or close it with a new regulation,” said the BGH. Otherwise the hands of the courts are tied.