Because of possible dubious funds
FBI questioned AfD top candidate Krah
April 17, 2024, 8:51 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
During a trip to the USA in December 2023, AfD politician Krah will be asked about possible payments from pro-Russian sources. He denies money movements and tries to explain chat messages. There are also allegations against another top representative of his party.
According to a report, the AfD’s leading candidate for the European elections, Maximilian Krah, was questioned by the US Federal Police FBI about possible payments from pro-Russian patrons. The interrogation took place in December 2023 in the USA before Krah’s return to Germany after an event organized by the young Republicans in New York, the “Spiegel” reported, citing joint information with the ZDF program “Frontal”. When asked, Krah said: “I was questioned as a witness about my contacts in Ukraine, yes. I provided information accordingly.”
According to research by “Spiegel” and the ZDF broadcast, the US investigators are said to have kept Krah, among other things, a chat message in which a pro-Russian activist assured his acquaintance Krah that the problem was with the “compensations” for Krah’s “technical expenses.” be solved. From May onwards “it will be as it was before February”. The wording suggested that Krah could have been paid covertly for a long time, it said. The authorities now investigated.
Krah also said that he had never hidden his contacts with the pro-Russian activist and that they could be found, among other things, on his Instagram account. “The allegations are absurd and fabricated.” The “Spiegel” quoted Krah as saying that he never received any money from the activist, “no payments, benefits or other compensation.” The activist may have wanted to pay him back money for an opera ball ticket. Or the chat message that mentioned “compensations” must have been intended for another recipient.
Krah denies accepting money
The FBI probably got hold of the chat when it checked Voloshin’s cell phone on a previous trip to the United States. According to “Time” magazine, he was checked by two officers in the summer of 2021. “They took my cell phone,” the magazine quoted Voloshyn as saying. “And they read all the information.” The US authorities declined to comment to “Spiegel”.
Krah’s name is currently also appearing in connection with the pro-Russian Internet platform “Voice of Europe” (VoE). At the end of March, the Czech Republic placed VoE on the national sanctions list following intelligence investigations. The website is part of a Russian influence operation aimed at questioning Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and freedom, it said.
Interviews with the AfD politician Petr Bystron and Krah appeared on the portal, among others. The Czech newspaper “Denik N” had reported that Bystron may also have accepted money. The AfD MP has rejected this several times. According to “Spiegel,” Krah also denies having accepted money from the “Voice of Europe” environment.
The European elections will take place from June 6th to 9th. The more than 700 members of the European Parliament are elected. Parliament is closely involved in European legislation and also has a say in the composition of the next EU Commission.