Immunity lifted

Money laundering investigation against AfD MP

Investigations have been launched against AfD MP Petr Bystron (pictured) on initial suspicion of bribery and money laundering.(Bild: AFP/Odd Andersen)

The public prosecutor's office in Munich has launched an investigation into AfD MP Petr Bystron on suspicion of bribery and money laundering and searched several properties on Thursday. The German Bundestag had previously waived his immunity.

According to the Public Prosecutor General's Office, searches were planned for Bystron's parliamentary office in Berlin, several locations in Bavaria in the districts of Munich, Erding and Deggendorf and on Mallorca during the course of Thursday. Eleven public prosecutors and around 60 police officers from the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office were deployed.

Search for evidence from witnesses too
Witnesses who are not considered defendants in the proceedings were also searched, said a spokesperson for the public prosecutor's office. The main aim was to secure documents and data carriers in order to search them for evidence. The Munich Public Prosecutor General's Office pointed out that the presumption of innocence applies until a possible conviction.

Investigations have been initiated against AfD MP Petr Bystron (pictured) on the initial suspicion of bribery and money laundering.(Bild: AFP/Odd Andersen)

Bystron himself was initially unavailable for comment. The MP from the Munich North constituency has been the AfD's chairman of the German Bundestag's Foreign Affairs Committee since 2017. Since 2021, he has also been his party's foreign policy spokesperson and its representative to the Council of Europe and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

In the headlines for weeks
The AfD's leading politicians Maximilian Krah and Petr Bystron have been in the headlines for weeks due to possible links to pro-Russian networks. Following media reports about possible payments of money to both politicians, public prosecutors recently examined whether to open an investigation.