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German singer suspected of 300 counts of child sex abuse

German New Age singer Oliver Shanti, wanted on suspicion of more than 300 counts of child sexual abuse, has been flown to Germany for remand after his arrest in Portugal last week, prosecutors in Munich said on Monday.

Published: 7 July 2008 17:57 CEST

Police said the 59-year-old, whose given name is Ulrich Schulz, was taken to the hospital for unspecified health issues after his arrival, though he appeared to be in relatively good health, chief detective Ignaz Raab said.

“The accused was emotionally agitated,” Raab said. Investigators have said Shanti has chosen to remain silent regarding the criminal accusations.

“Police are looking for other victims,” said state prosecutor’s office spokesperson Anton Winkler in Munich. “The prosecutor’s office wants to press charges quickly.”

The Hamburg-born singer, who has been wanted since 2002, was arrested after being recognized at the German Embassy in Lisbon when he applied for a passport, which authorities believe he may have wanted to use to flee to Brazil, news agency AFP reported.

The authorities are not clear on how Shanti could have remained undetected in Portugal for so long. He was considered to be a model citizen of his village, Vila Nova de Cerveira.

Germany raids properties in bribery probe aimed at AfD politician

The investigation targets Petr Bystron, the number-two candidate for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in next month’s European Parliament elections, Der Spiegel news outlet reported.

Police, and prosecutors in Munich, confirmed on Thursday they were conducting “a preliminary investigation against a member of the German Bundestag on the initial suspicion of bribery of elected officials and money laundering”, without giving a name.

Properties in Berlin, the southern state of Bavaria and the Spanish island of Mallorca were searched and evidence seized, they said in a statement.

About 70 police officers and 11 prosecutors were involved in the searches.

Last month, Bystron denied media reports that he was paid to spread pro-Russian views on a Moscow-financed news website, just one of several scandals that the extreme-right anti-immigration AfD is battling.

READ ALSO: How spying scandal has rocked troubled German far-right party

Bystron’s offices in the German parliament, the Bundestag, were searched after lawmakers voted to waive the immunity usually granted to MPs, his party said.

The allegations against Bystron surfaced in March when the Czech government revealed it had bust a Moscow-financed network that was using the Prague-based Voice of Europe news site to spread Russian propaganda across Europe.

Did AfD politicians receive Russian money?

Czech daily Denik N said some European politicians cooperating with the news site were paid from Russian funds, in some cases to fund their European Parliament election campaigns.

It singled out the AfD as being involved.

Denik N and Der Spiegel named Bystron and Maximilian Krah, the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections, as suspects in the case.

After the allegations emerged, Bystron said that he had “not accepted any money to advocate pro-Russian positions”.

Krah has denied receiving money for being interviewed by the site.

On Wednesday, the European Union agreed to impose a broadcast ban on the Voice of Europe, diplomats said.

The AfD’s popularity surged last year, when it capitalised on discontent in Germany at rising immigration and a weak economy, but it has dropped back in the face of recent scandals.

As well as the Russian propaganda allegations, the party has faced a Chinese spying controversy and accusations that it discussed the idea of mass deportations with extremists, prompting a wave of protests across Germany.

READ ALSO: Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

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