In the donation scandal of the AfD leads a track to the entrepreneur August von Finck. According to research of the SPIEGEL and the Swiss weekly newspaper "WOZ", an authorized representative of the billionaire was apparently involved in the conception of the AfD-related newspaper "Germany Kurier".

August von Finck, one of the richest Germans, lives in Switzerland. The shy billionaire was known not only as a generous supporter of the CSU to Franz Josef Strauss' times and the FDP (keyword: Mövenpick donation), but has been promoting political parties and initiatives in the right and libertarian milieu for years.

At the beginning of the 1990s, he supported the first anti-euro party "Bund freer Bürger" with 4.3 million euros, later he considered the project "Citizens' Convention" with today's AfD politician Beatrix von Storch with another million. Since the founding of the AfD there had been rumors about a promotion of AfD by Finck; In 2013, the CDU-affiliated Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung had first speculated in a dossier about ties to the billionaire. Now, for the first time, traces of Finck are visible.

Accordingly, the managing director of the finckschen asset management, Ernst Knut steel, met in March 2017 in Munich with a German publisher to discuss the then in planning newspaper project. While the publisher confirmed the meeting, Finck's agent Steel left a SPIEGEL inquiry unanswered.

The editor-in-chief of the "Germany Courier," David Bendels, did not answer concrete questions about the role of Finck and his representative. The newspaper, in which many AfD politicians write, was used by the party repeatedly for election purposes and is financed by anonymous donors.

PR agency paid bills for AFD events

In addition, statements from insiders and documents suggest that Finck indirectly sponsored several AfD events in 2013. The bills for these events were therefore paid not by the party, but by a Munich PR agency, which maintains close relations with Finck and its authorized steel.

The then Federal Treasurer of the AfD, Norbert Stenzel, estimated the amount of the invoices taken over from the agency to "100,000 to 120,000 euros". Their managing director Dagmar Metzger confirms that she "financed some events in the initial phase of the AfD", but put the sum at "about 35,000 euros". The amount was properly listed in the AfD accountability report. The question of whether their expenses for the AFD from the fortune of August von Finck were settled, butchers open.

Ulrich Müller from the organization Lobbycontrol calls for a ruthless explanation of the events: "The Bundestag administration now has to examine how Ms. Metzger financed events for the AfD in the beginning," says Müller. "If the funds came from third parties like Mr. von Finck, these would be clear breaches of party law."

Lucrative gold trade

According to internal records, Finck was also involved through his trading company Degussa in a lucrative gold trade, with which the AfD strengthened its financial base in the first few years. As one of the SPIEGEL and the "WOZ" present supply list shows the AfD, Degussa was one of the main suppliers of gold.

The AfD has been shaken by a donation scandal for two weeks. The beginning was made by revelations of the research network of NDR, WDR and "Süddeutsche Zeitung" about a major donation from Switzerland to the district association of the group leader Alice Weidel. Then followed reports of donations from a strange foundation from the Netherlands. The donations were returned by the party, but in the case of donation from Switzerland only after months.

Meanwhile, the public prosecutor's office determines Konstanz against Weidel and three party friends for possible violations of the party law. Weidel has rejected the allegations.

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