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GERHARD SCHRÖDER

Germany’s Social Democrats move to expel Gerhard Schröder over Putin ties

Germany's ruling Social Democrats (SPD) launched proceedings Thursday that could see former chancellor Gerhard Schröder expelled from the party over his close ties to Vladimir Putin and Russian energy companies.

Published: 14 July 2022 11:31 CEST
Gerhard Schröder Olaf Scholz
Gerhard Schröder takes part in an event at the launch of Olaf Scholz's biography, "The Way to Power" in December 2021. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

The SPD’s Hanover branch opened a hearing to discuss more than a dozen motions from local and regional chapters against Schröder’s ongoing membership, with a decision expected in three weeks.

Schröder has “decided that his financial and personal dependence on Putin is more important than his commitment to the SPD or the legacy of his chancellorship,” senior party member Thomas Kutschaty told the Rheinische Post daily.

Schröder, German chancellor from 1998 to 2005, has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as unjustified but has refused to turn his back on his friend in the Kremlin, becoming an embarrassment to the SPD.

He has also been widely criticised for holding a number of lucrative posts at Russian energy giants, and it was only after much public pressure that Schröder in May gave up his seat on the board of Russian energy group Rosneft.

He later also announced he would not be joining Gazprom’s supervisory board as initially planned.

Germany’s parliament in May removed some of the perks Schroeder was entitled to as an elder statesman, stripping him of an office and staff.

READ ALSO: Germany strips Schröder of official perks over links to Russia

Schröder, 78, has remained defiant and is expected to fight efforts to kick him out of the SPD.

“I will not give up my opportunities for dialogue with President Putin,” Schroeder recently told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper.

Legal experts say there are high hurdles for expelling members from the party, and Schroeder will be able to appeal any decision against him.

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CRIME

Two Germans charged with treason in Russia spying case

Two German men been charged with high treason for gathering state secrets from Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency and passing them to Russia, prosecutors said on Friday.

Published: 9 September 2023 08:45 CEST
Two Germans charged with treason in Russia spying case

The pair, named as Carsten L. and Arthur E., are accused of working together with a Russian businessman to “procure sensitive information from the BND’s portfolio” and hand it over to Russia’s FSB security services.

Carsten L., an employee of the BND, was arrested in December 2022 and his accomplice was detained a month later as he arrived at Munich airport from the United States.

Carsten L. is accused of passing on documents from the BND to Arthur E., who in turn passed them on to the contact in Russia, the prosecutors said in a statement. 

In September and October 2022, Carsten L. allegedly printed out or took screenshots of nine internal BND documents.

He then passed on the information to Arthur E., who took digital images of the documents to Moscow, printed them out and handed them over to the FSB.

The Russian businessman is said to have arranged the meetings in Moscow and paid for Arthur E.’s flights.

The information was classified and leaking it posed a serious risk to German security, the prosecutors said.

The FSB is said to have paid Carsten L. at least 450,000 euros ($482,000) and Arthur E. at least 400,000 euros, with Arthur E. picking up the payments in cash from Moscow.

On his way back to Germany, Carsten E. arranged for his accomplice to be “smuggled” through customs at the airport.

If found guilty of high treason, the suspects could be jailed for life.

Russia and Germany have been at odds over several cases of alleged spying since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

The BfV German domestic security agency in June warned against the risk of an “aggressive Russian espionage operation” as Moscow pursues its war on Ukraine.

Western sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine’s military defence meant the Kremlin had an “increased interest” in information gathering, the BfV said in its annual report.

In August, a German national working for the military was arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia.

In November 2022, a German man was handed a suspended sentence for passing information to Russian intelligence services while working as a reserve officer for the German army.

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