Police search Brussels office of prominent far-right German lawmaker over China spying allegations

BERLIN (AP) — Authorities were searching the European Parliament office of a prominent German far-right lawmaker in Brussels on Tuesday, Germany’s top prosecutor’s office said.

Maximilian Krah, the Alternative for Germany party’s top candidate in the upcoming European Parliament elections, has been under scrutiny after one of his assistants was arrested last month on suspicion of spying for China.

Jian Guo — a German national who had worked for Krah since his election to the European Union legislature in 2019 — has been accused of working for a Chinese intelligence service and of repeatedly passing on information on negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament in January. Prosecutors allege that he was also spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany.

The arrest cast an unflattering light on the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which already faced criticism for having Russia-friendly positions. The European Parliament elections in Germany will take place June 9.

The federal public prosecutor’s office said in Tuesday’s statement that “the European Parliament has consented to enter the premises.”

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It said that the offices of both Krah and Guo in Brussels were searched on the basis of orders issued by the investigating German judge and a European investigation order.

While the search of Guo’s office was “part of the proceedings against Jian G. on suspicion of acting as an intelligence agent,” Krah’s office was searched because he is considered a witness in the case, it added.

More than 20 people could be seen in the hallway near the offices on the fifth floor of the European Parliament, but reporters trying to cover the search were not allowed to get close to the office.

An apartment belonging to Guo in Brussels was searched last month, the prosecutors’ statement said.

Krah dismissed his assistant last month after he was arrested, but both the German government and opposition lawmakers have sharply assailed the Alternative for Germany for its alleged closeness to China and also Russia.

Despite the allegations, Krah remains the AfD’s top candidate for the European Parliament election.

News magazine Der Spiegel and public broadcaster ZDF reported last month that Krah was questioned by the FBI at the end of a visit to the United States in December about possible payments from pro-Russian sources.

Krah has denied receiving any such payments. He wrote on the social platform X that the preliminary investigation was expected but added that “we are still in the area of suppositions and insinuations.”

The no. 2 on the AfD’s list for the European Parliament election, Petr Bystron, last month separately denied allegations in a Czech daily that he may have received money from a pro-Russian network.

Also last month, German authorities arrested three other people suspected of spying for China and arranging to transfer information on technology with potential military uses.

Prosecutors said the three German citizens are accused of having acted for Chinese intelligence since before June 2022. They are also suspected of violating German export laws by exporting a special laser without permission.

The searches took place as Chinese leader Xi Jinping toured Europe. After first visiting France, Xi headed to Serbia on Tuesday and will then continue on to Hungary. Xi’s European trip, the first in five years, seeks to rebuild relations at a time of global tensions.

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Associated Press writer Sylvain Plazy in Brussels contributed to this report.