The German federal prosecutor’s office announced searches on Tuesday in the offices of AfD MEP Maximilian Krah in the European Parliament as part of suspicions of espionage for the benefit of China against one of his assistants.
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Maximilian Krah, head of the far-right party list in the June 9 vote, is not targeted by these accusations and the search of his Brussels office is part of a procedure “ regarding witnesses », Specified the prosecution in a press release.
The searches are linked to the arrest on April 23 of Jian Guo, an aide to the MEP, accused of having spied on Chinese opponents in Germany and of having shared information on the European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service.
“ The European Parliament has given its consent to enter the premises “, indicated the prosecution, recalling that an apartment of Jian Guo in Brussels had already been searched on April 24. The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office told AFP that it had supervised the procedure.
“ Neither I nor any other member of staff are affected »
Maximilian Krah confirmed the search “ from the office of his ex-collaborator » in a reaction on his X account. « This was predictable after his arrest and is therefore not at all surprising », he wrote, being surprised that it was necessary “ so much time ” to do it.
“ Neither I nor any other member of staff are affected “, he added. The revelation, at the end of April, of suspicions of espionage by a Chinese agent in the heart of the European Parliament fueled fears of interference from Beijing aimed at undermining democracies before the June elections.
The case came the day after the arrest in Germany of three nationals, also accused of spying for China, and the indictment of two men in London on similar suspicions.
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