Investigations in the state parliament: CDU, SPD and AfD under suspicion of corruption!
Investigators searched the offices of the CDU, SPD and AfD in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament on suspicion of infidelity and illegal allowances.

Investigations in the state parliament: CDU, SPD and AfD under suspicion of corruption!
On Tuesday morning there were surprising searches in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt. The offices of the CDU, SPD and AfD factions were turned upside down by the Magdeburg public prosecutor's office and the State Criminal Police Office. This measure is taken due to concrete suspicions of infidelity. In particular, it concerns unlawful functional allowances, which, according to the star be critically examined.
The background to this investigation is a complaint from the Taxpayers' Association. A parliamentary reform anchored in law stipulates that such allowances are not permitted. The CDU has paid out an impressive 113,250 euros in functional allowances since 2020, with 66,000 euros being recorded in 2021 alone and a further 47,250 euros in 2022. The other factions are also not without it, with the AfD reporting additional payments of 25,619.76 euros in 2021, while the SPD's balance sheet was 7,500 euros.
Context of the investigation
The searches were ordered by a judicial order from the Magdeburg district court. The affected factions are currently expressing themselves rather cautiously and have not yet commented on the allegations. Loud MDR There was initially no further information from the public prosecutor.
Corruption, as a look beyond the borders of Saxony-Anhalt shows, is a phenomenon that occurs equally in democracy and dictatorship. The discussion about political corruption is not new. In many countries it is seen as a means of personal gain and ultimately damages citizens' trust in the public service. The term itself is diverse and objective - it ranges from bribery to accepting advantages to problematic lobbying. According to that bpb Social norms regarding corruption are shaped by temporal and cultural influences.
It remains to be seen how the situation will develop for the affected factions. What is clear, however, is that the call for transparency and the need for anti-corruption measures only grows louder in this light. At a time when trust in political structures is dwindling, such scandals are anything but good business for democracy.