China spy probe: Staff member of German far-right AfD lead candidate arrested

7 months ago 30

After being accused of receiving money through a Russian propaganda network, German far-right lead candidate Maximilian Krah (AfD) is involved in another scandal, with one of his European Parliament assistants arrested on suspicion of spying for China.

According to reports by ARD, a staff member of Krah was detained on Monday night (22 April). The German Federal Attorney General believes the parliamentary assistant has worked for Chinese intelligence to spy on opposition groups exiled in Germany.

He has been accused of infiltrating multiple organisations, where in one case, working as a secretary-general, he reportedly had access to sensitive information.

In addition, he is accused of relaying parliamentary information to the Chinese, while working for Krah in the European Parliament as an assistant.

In a press statement, available to Euractiv, Krah said that “spying for a foreign state is a serious accusation.”

“Should the allegations prove to be true, this would result in the immediate termination of the employment relationship,” he added.

Krah himself is a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, where he has worked as a shadow rapporteur on various opinions on EU-China agreements.

In the past, Krah was said to have an unusually close relationship with China for a far-right politician.

The news platform t-online reported that Krah had close relationships with people who were tasked to expand Chinese influence in Europe. It is reported that he took sponsored trips to China. In addition, a German-Chinese lobby network is said to have been established via a close confidant of his, with Krah’s office in Brussels as the centre.

Last October, the head of the German domestic intelligence service, Thomas Haldenwang, highlighted that “China is very interested in cultivating a China-friendly climate [in Germany] to keep [its political intelligence gathering] under the radar.”

The now-detained assistant of Krah apparently approached the German authorities ten years ago, in a bid to work as an informant for them. ARD reports that the offer was denied since he was suspected of being a double agent.

In 2019, when Krah was elected to the European Parliament, he hired the now-detained staff member, as they already knew each other, according to Die Zeit. Shortly afterward, Krah visited China, bringing along his new employee who is of Chinese origin. The newspaper reports that this was likely the event when he started to work for the Chinese authorities.

Following the first reports, the Greens in the European Parliament are urging President Roberta Metsola to increase the parliament’s investigation of foreign powers influencing EU lawmakers.

Terry Reintke, lead candidate for the European Greens, demanded, “preliminary results [of the investigation] before the elections.”

“The allegations of spying for China are extremely serious,” said German Interior Minister Nancy Faser (SPD/S&D) on Tuesday (23 April) morning in Berlin. “If it is confirmed that the European Parliament assistant was spying for Chinese intelligence services, then this is an attack from within on European democracy.”

According to press reports, the Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations of espionage. Chinese Spokesperson Wan Wenbin claimed that the accusations were intended to “slander and suppress China”.