The green
Habeck: The chapter on corona bonuses will soon be completed
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck during a press conference in Munich. Photo: Tobias Hase/dpa
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The Berlin public prosecutor’s office is investigating the federal executive committee of the Greens because of the initial suspicion of infidelity in connection with corona bonuses.
The Greens chairman Robert Habeck does not expect any new findings from the public prosecutor’s investigations into bonus payments to him and other members of the federal executive board.
“The corona bonuses have long since been repaid,” said the Federal Minister of Economics on Thursday in Munich. “Otherwise, the public prosecutor will now investigate and clear it up again. And then, I think, the chapter will finally be closed.” The members of the party executive fully cooperated with the public prosecutor’s office.
The Berlin public prosecutor’s office is investigating the initial suspicion of infidelity against the entire Federal Executive Committee of the Greens. “The subject of the procedure is the approval of a “corona bonus” by the members of the federal executive board for themselves,” said the authority. In addition to party leaders Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, the Greens board also includes Michael Kellner, Jamila Schaefer, Ricarda Lang and Marc Urbatsch. A new board will be elected at the party conference at the end of next week.
All employees received a corona bonus
A spokesman for the Greens said on Wednesday evening: “It is about the participation of the members of the federal executive board in decisions on the payment of so-called “corona bonuses”, which – as already known – will be given to all employees of the federal office and at the same time to the federal executive board in 2020 had been paid.”
All employees of the Green Federal Office received the Corona bonus of 1500 euros per person last winter. It was intended to compensate for the burdens that had arisen from working in the home office and the renovation of the building. Internal party auditors had already objected to the payments to the board. The bonus was also paid to the six members of the federal executive board, which, according to the auditors, was not covered by internal party regulations.
The public prosecutor explained: “The assumption of an initial suspicion only requires that there is a possibility of committing a criminal offense on the basis of concrete evidence.” In this case, the public prosecutor is obliged to initiate an investigation.