Investigators have once again searched rooms in the EU Parliament. According to information from “Spiegel”, the person in question is a former employee of the AfD’s top candidate Maximilian Krah.
The person in question is said to be Guillaume P., who currently works for the right-wing populist Dutch MP Marcel de Graaf. According to reports, the raids are linked to the affair surrounding the pro-Russian news portal “Voice of Europe”. This is said to be at the center of a Russian influence operation.
At the end of March, the portal was therefore subject to Czech sanctions. The Czech government believes that it spread propaganda in the interests of the Kremlin and was used to covertly support pro-Russian candidates in the European elections in several EU countries. The sum involved could be as much as one million euros. In a statement, “Voice of Europe” spoke of “wild speculation and absurd accusations”.
In the past, the website has featured numerous interviews with right-wing populist and right-wing extremist politicians. Among others, the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections in June, Maximilian Krah, and the AfD Bundestag member Petr Bystron, who is second on the list, were interviewed there. The Dutch MP de Graaff also appeared there.
All three politicians deny that they received money from “Voice of Europe”. However, Bystron is being investigated on suspicion of bribery of elected officials and money laundering. Investigators suspect that the AfD politician received tens of thousands of euros – Bystron denies the allegations.