On Wednesday morning, the Stuttgart police arrested a 47-year-old man who is said to have raised money through public appeals since May 2020 and deceived the donors about the use of the donations.
According to information from the FAZ, it is the founder of the so-called lateral thinker movement, Michael Ballweg.
The organization was founded in spring 2020 in protest against the federal government's pandemic policy.
Rudiger Soldt
Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.
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The IT entrepreneur Ballweg was one of the key initiators.
The practice of the lateral thinking movement of having "gifts" transferred instead of donations had already led to critical inquiries at the end of 2021.
At the time, Ballweg was accused of circumventing the transparency requirements that are required for donations in this way.
Ballweg also ran for the Stuttgart mayoral election at the end of 2020, but failed with 2.6 percent.
assets secured
According to the current status of the investigation, according to a press release from the Stuttgart public prosecutor's office, the suspect is said to have raised a "higher six-digit" donation amount and used it improperly for himself.
The officers carried out court-ordered search warrants in two apartments and business premises and confiscated evidence that must now be evaluated.
In addition, the suspect's assets were seized by court order.
He is to be brought before the magistrate, but a decision on remand has yet to be made.
The core team of lateral thinkers is observed by the Baden-Württemberg Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
In August 2020, almost 40,000 citizens took part in a demonstration against the corona measures in Berlin, which Ballweg had registered.