Nepotism allegations: Wissing fires hydrogen department head Klaus Bonhoff

0

Germany Klaus Bonhoff

Nepotism allegations – Wissing fires hydrogen department head

| Reading time: 2 minutes

Transport Minister Volker Wissing – “The necessary relationship of trust no longer exists”

Transport Minister Volker Wissing: “The necessary relationship of trust no longer exists”

Source: dpa/Jan Woitas

You can listen to our WELT podcasts here

In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, as the providers of the embedded content require this consent as third party providers [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and privacy at the bottom of the page.

The case is reminiscent of that of State Secretary Patrick Graichen, who was fired by Robert Habeck: Transport Minister Volker Wissing is releasing his hydrogen department head from his duties with immediate effect. He is said to have maintained personal connections with beneficiaries of his decisions.

bFederal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) has replaced his head of the hydrogen department following allegations of nepotism. Wissing has decided to relieve Klaus Bonhoff of his duties with immediate effect, said State Secretary Stefan Schnorr in Berlin on Thursday. “The necessary relationship of trust between the minister and the head of department no longer exists.” In addition, a head of department will be transferred within the ministry.

The affair was triggered by media reports that Bonhoff had funded hydrogen projects with a sum of millions in 2021, although close personal connections to the beneficiaries may have played a role. The ministry then started an internal investigation, the results of which, however, did not confirm the suspicion at the end of 2023. However, based on further media reports, it emerged that the department had not forwarded all the necessary documents and emails to the internal audit department, said Schnorr.

also read

Initial inspections of these documents revealed that there were significant inconsistencies with the other documents, said Schnorr. The review of these documents is ongoing. However, it is clear that the required transparency did not exist. In this specific case, the funding was worth a good one million euros. However, further awards are now being reviewed.

The case is reminiscent of the former State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics, Patrick Graichen. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) also fired him in spring 2023 after allegations of nepotism in connection with funding projects.

Here you will find content from third parties

In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, as the providers of the embedded content require this consent as third party providers [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and privacy at the bottom of the page.

source site