Krah confirms searches of ex-employees

The AfD's lead candidate in the European elections, Maximilian Krah, has confirmed that the recent searches in Brussels and Strasbourg were directed against a former employee - who, however, no longer works for him. "Because it is misunderstood: There was no search today in an office that belongs to me," Krah wrote on X on Wednesday. "The ex-employee in question has long been working for another MEP, and his office there was searched," he continued.

The Belgian public prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday that the home and offices of an employee of the European Parliament had been searched in connection with suspected Russian influence peddling. The Belgian authorities searched the employee's home in the Brussels district of Schaerbeek and the office in the European Parliament in Belgium's capital, while French authorities searched the premises at the Parliament's headquarters in Strasbourg. No details were initially given about the identity of the employee or which MEP he works for.