He was granted a "new crown allowance" to himself, and the German vice chancellor, foreign minister and other senior members of the Green Party were investigated

According to the European Times, the Prosecutor's Office in Berlin, Germany, is investigating all six members of the Green Party's Federal Executive Committee, including German Foreign Minister Berberk from the Green Party and German Deputy Chancellor and Economy Minister Habeck. The grounds were suspected of corruption and disloyalty to political parties.

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Illegally obtain special COVID-19 subsidies

Comprehensive German news agency, Germany's "Der Spiegel" weekly website reported that Martin Steltner, spokesman for the Berlin Prosecutor's Office, confirmed the news to the media on the 19th. All six members of the Green Party's Federal Executive Committee allegedly illegally received a special COVID-19 subsidy of €1,500 from within the political party in 2020. The subsidy, which is designed to offset the cost of working from home and renovating buildings, has "initial suspicions of infidelity.".

In addition to German Foreign Minister Berberk and Economic Minister Habeck, also under investigation are Ricarda Lang and Jamila Schaefer, vice-presidents of the Green Party, Michael Kellner, the Green Party's federal standing committee member, who was recently appointed parliamentary secretary of state for the Ministry of Economic Affairs at Habeck, and Marc Urbatsch, federal treasurer.

Since everyone except Urbash is a member of the Bundestag and enjoys immunity, parliament must be notified before an investigation can be initiated. According to the report, the incident occurred in December last year, but the procuratorate only formally opened an investigation on January 6 this year.

According to the prosecutor's office, the investigation was sparked by private criminal charges, which also referenced news reports from last year. Accordingly, six senior Green Party officials approved "covid-19-related special payments" for themselves from party assets in 2020. The allowance was heavily criticized last year by party auditors. Auditors complained that the bonus was not covered by party rules. Under the collective agreement, the members of the Executive Committee can in fact receive up to 300 euros. In addition to the COVID-19 allowance, auditors also criticized the illegal allowances associated with the success of the European Parliament elections in 2019.

Belbork was approved for additional income

A Green Party spokesman confirmed the investigation. "The relevant members of the Federal Executive Council and the Federal Office are cooperating fully with the Prosecutor's Office to clarify the matter quickly and thoroughly," the spokesman said. The "COVID-19 allowance" will be paid to all employees of the Federal Office in 2020, together with the Federal Executive Council. The Federal Executive Council is "the supreme executive body of the party and, therefore, from the point of view of all parties concerned, has the right to make appropriate decisions". Members of the Executive Committee have reimbursed the controversial "COVID-19 allowance".

In fact, these allowances will be known in 2021. At the time, Belberk made headlines for withholding about 25,000 euros of sideline income from the Bundestag. According to the Greens, they took note of the problem last March. Belburk subsequently made up his earnings. However, the news was not made public until After Belbock was nominated as a candidate for prime minister. These mistakes have also cast a shadow over the green prime minister candidate's campaign.

Thorsten Frei, chairman of the Union party's parliamentary caucus, called for a swift clarification of the incident in the Rhine-Post. "The question is how the Greens Executive Committee can make decisions that benefit members." Some suspect that party rules may have been violated. "This should be clarified as soon as possible, first and foremost for the sake of political credibility." (Original title: Approved the "new crown allowance" for themselves The German vice chancellor, foreign minister and other high-level Green Party leaders were investigated)