Contributions are moved to legal professionals' bank accounts.

Wüst comments on the smuggling scandal - Contributions are moved to legal professionals' bank accounts.

The funding to local CDU divisions, under inquiry in a suspected human trafficking case, were directed towards lawyers' bank accounts, as revealed by Landesparteichef Hendrik Wüst in Düsseldorf on Thursday. "In my opinion, everyone did this as the CDU didn't want even a penny from such individuals at every level," stated the North Rhine-Westphalia Chief Minister.

Previous statements from the CDU unveiled that during their own investigation, they discovered that numerous suspects involved in the trafficking case had contributed to the CDU. This totaled over 52,000 Euro. In response, the party urged local branches to examine all donation documents from a suspect and his business network dating back to the last decade. In doing so, they discovered multiple payments in the thousands of Euro range from the years 2020 to 2023. These payments were made to the CDU Rhein-Erft-Kreis, the CDU Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, the Young Union NRW, and the Young Union Germany.

Back in April, the police executed searches in eight federal states as part of a wider operation. The authorities believe that the suspected traffickers may have bribed public officials in various authorities in order to secure residence permits for their clients from abroad. The prosecutor's office is probing 58 suspects and 147 supposed beneficiaries who are accused of receiving illegal residence permits through the traffickers.

NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) found himself under scrutiny due to this situation, as one of the alleged ring leaders had donated 30,000 Euro to the CDU during his campaign and had met him several times. Reul maintained his ignorance of the situation.

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1. The investigation into the CDU's funding revealed that Donations from foreigners involved in a smuggling gang were directed towards the bank accounts of legal professionals, as stated by Hendrik Wüst, the Chair of the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
2. Wüst, the Chief Minister of NRW, defended the party's actions by saying, "In my opinion, everyone did this as the CDU didn't want even a penny from such individuals at every level."
3. The smuggling scandal involved numerous suspects contributing over 52,000 Euro to various CDU parties in North Rhine-Westphalia, including the CDU Rhein-Erft-Kreis, the CDU Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, the Young Union NRW, and the Young Union Germany.
4. The CDU in Cologne was among the divisions under investigation, as contributions were allegedly moved to the bank accounts of legal professionals involved in the case.
5. In response to the scandal, the CDU urged local branches to examine all donation documents from suspects and their business networks dating back to the last decade.
6. The NRW Interior Minister, Herbert Reul (CDU), found himself under scrutiny due to the involvement of a suspected smuggling gang leader, who had donated 30,000 Euro to the CDU during his campaign and had met him several times.
7. The CDU Düsseldorf District Association and its younger counterpart, the Young Union Düsseldorf, were also implicated in the smuggling scandal, with questionable donations from foreigners.

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