Germany launches investigation against foreign minister who met with Lavrov

Germany launches investigation against Foreign Minister Burbock and Economy Minister Habek

Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock, Economy Minister Robert Habek and other members of the Greens are suspected of illegally receiving coronavirus payments in 2020

The Berlin prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the leadership of the German Green Party, including its co-chairs – Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock and Vice-Chancellor of Germany, Economics Minister Robert Habek, informs SPIEGEL. This information was confirmed to the AFP agency by the representative of the prosecutor’s office, Martin Shteltner.

According to Spiegel, they were suspected of abuse in the payment of bonuses related to the coronavirus. According to the prosecutor’s office, in 2020 the representatives of the Greens presidium illegally appointed themselves and received payments of €1.5 thousand each.

In total, six people appear in the case: in addition to Burbock and Habek, these are other party members Ricarda Lang, Jamila Schaefer, Michael Kellner and Mark Urbach.

All the accused, with the exception of the last one, are members of the Bundestag, they have political immunity. Therefore, before starting an investigation, the prosecutor’s office notified the chairman of the Bundestag, Berbel Bas, about this. According to Spiegel, this happened in December.