The public prosecutor’s office in Hanover is investigating Ansgar Georg Schledde, State Parliament member and Deputy State Chairman with the German hard-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, over alleged financial irregularities.
He is accused of not forwarding donations deposited in his personal account on to the AfD.
On April 17, the police raided the AfD headquarters in Lower Saxony and the Ems-Vechte AfD district association in light of the allegations.
Lower Saxony AfD member Schledde is accused of having violated State party law, in particular Section 31d of the Political Parties Act.
Just before investigators moved in, the local Parliament had lifted his prosecution immunity and that of another, unnamed AfD lawmaker.
The public prosecutor is investigating suspicions that Schledde did not promptly transfer AfD donation funds and, in its financial report, may have failed to provide evidence of expenses he claimed from the party.
If the allegations are proven, he could potentially face up to three years imprisonment and a fine.
German media, including the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, suggested that the accusations involve an amount of approximately €48,000 and around 100 individual transfers, some of which were from MPs.
The investigation also focuses on whether the donations that were forwarded to the AfD were accurately recorded by the party. The public prosecutor’s office stated it is looking into allegations of inaccurate financial report submissions.
It is not the first time Schledde has faced accusations of financial misconduct. In 2022, former AfD member of the State Parliament Christopher Emden, who since left the party, claimed Schledde wanted money for promising to get hopefuls a spot on the AfD list, which Schledde has always forcefully denied.
The investigation into the accusations from 2022 was discontinued without further action.
According to the new allegations, donations received in Schledde’s personal account are claimed to show a clear AfD connection.
Lower Saxony party members currently serving in the Federal and State legislatures are alleged to have transferred the funds and to have referred to the account as a “war chest”.
That money, it is claimed, was not forwarded to the party, nor was it accounted for while it should have been officially reported.
The police raid took place just four days ahead of the AfD State party conference, where Schledde is hoping to become the new AfD State Chairman.
Current party chairman Frank Rinck said in a press statement: “The accusations levelled against my deputy, Ansgar Schledde, are completely unfounded.
“You could say it’s old news, yesterday’s coffee.”
Rinck described the searches on April 17 as “wholly excessive”.
Among the members who are said to have sent money to Schledde, one told German media that private payments were made but added: “What is wrong is that this money was used for party purposes,” adding that the money was only spent on personal travel costs and private political gatherings.
“Not a single euro has been made available to the AfD. Including such funds in a party’s account report would be factually incorrect and legally punishable.”
