Two former German lawmakers face trial for taking bribes from Azerbaijan
Two former members of the Bundestag from the CDU/CSU have to answer to the Munich Higher Regional Court (OLG) on charges of bribery in connection with the “Azerbaijan affair,” the Münchner Merkur Zeitung reports.
According to a spokesman, the court has accepted the charges brought by the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office without any changes, and the proceedings are set to begin on January 16. The Munich Merkur newspaper had previously reported on this.
The accused deny the allegations
The former CDU parliamentarian Axel Fischer from the Karlsruhe-Land constituency is suspected of bribery, and the former CSU MP Eduard Lintner from Lower Franconia is suspected of bribing elected officials. The aim of the payments was to influence decisions in Azerbaijan’s favor in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Both have always denied the allegations.
According to investigators, Lintner, who served in the Bundestag for 33 years and in the PACE until 2010, is said to have received “multiple millions of euros through 19 foreign letterbox companies” through two companies up until 2016. He is said to have passed some of this money on to other MPs who were supposed to influence decisions in Azerbaijan’s interest. Fischer, who was active as EPP parliamentary group leader in the PACE from 2010 to 2018, is said to have given positive speeches in the interests of Azerbaijan and passed on confidential documents at an early stage. In return, he is said to have received a bribe of 21,800 euros in 2016.
Influencing has only been a criminal offense since 2014
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the charges relate to payments made since September 2014. Since then, influencing the activities of members of the parliamentary assemblies of international organizations such as PACE has been a criminal offense in Germany.
Investigations lasted several years
The Higher Regional Court has also allowed charges to be brought against two other defendants. The Attorney General’s Office accuses them primarily of aiding and abetting, for example by making contact or processing payments. Another former MP, who was also under investigation in the meantime, has died.
The investigation had dragged on for years. There had already been searches at Lintner’s home in 2020, and the following year the Federal Criminal Police Office searched Fischer’s office in the Bundestag.
