Raid in Königs Wusterhausen: Pro-Russian club in the sights of the judiciary

Raid in Königs Wusterhausen: Pro-Russian club in the sights of the judiciary

Königs Wusterhausen, Deutschland - On Tuesday morning, the police and judiciary carried out extensive missions in Berlin, Königs Wusterhausen and Wandlitz. The reason for these measures are the ongoing investigation by the Federal Prosecutor's Office for suspicion of supporting a terrorist association abroad. The focus is on the association "Friedensbrücke - War Sacrificial Aid", which has been active in Berlin since its foundation in 2015 and focuses on humanitarian aid in Eastern Ukraine. The association has implemented over 800 projects, with goods being distributed to both civilians and fighting units. Research show that under the articles delivered were also militarily usable goods such as lubricating and weapon oil as well as accessories for combat drones, which further harden the suspicion of the members of the association.

In connection with the searches, several objects, including a property in Zernsdorf and a club office in Friedrichshain, were checked. According to information from daily show.de , an arrest warrant will be issued in Russia. This member is said to have been suspected of supporting a foreign terrorist association. The Federal Prosecutor's office classified Donetsk and Luhansk are viewed as terrorist associations, which makes the background of the investigation even more explosive.

The association and its leadership

Head of the association is the 52-year-old Liane K., who has lived in Moscow since 2022 and was naturalized there in April 2023. Liane K. did not comment on the allegations and previously declared that her club was "pushed into the criminal corner". The association also received support from Christian Dorst, the vice -leader of the BSW, who described the allegations presented as "constructed". Another central player is Sven S., a member of the nationalist rocker club "Night Wolves", who accepted Russian citizenship in 2023.

The investigation has been running for some time and are aimed at checking the association's connections to pro-Russian militias in Eastern Ukraine. It is believed that the club members actively support the Russian aggression war and, in the period from 2015 to 2022, have encountered funds and material into the competitive areas.

legal framework conditions

The financing of such activities is closely related to the provisions on terrorist financing, as regulated in Germany. The BaFin (Federal Financial Service Supervisory Authority) refers to the importance of a risk analysis in accordance with the money laundering law. This obliges organizations to examine and evaluate the risks of terrorist financing. In practice, however, the topic of terrorism financing is often only abstractly dealt with, while many potential risks remain unused. The current developments show that donation organizations are not unproblematic in this regard, since they may be able to act as channels to finance extremist activities.

In the case of the "Friedensbrücke", the suspicion is particularly directed towards the use of collected funds to support terrorist structures, which further intensifies the investigation of the BKA and the federal prosecutor. These situations require continuous monitoring of all business relationships and transactions to ensure the effectiveness of the duties of care.

The current situation around the "Friedensbrücke" association raises serious questions about the legal and ethical aspects of the support of war activities and highlights the challenges that arise in the field of terrorist financing. It remains to be seen how the legal disputes will develop.