Latest news with #Krah
Euronews
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Trial of German ex-MEP's aide thrusts spy scandal back into spotlight
Shortly before last year's European elections, the parliamentary assistant of Maximilian Krah was arrested in Germany on suspicion of spying for China. The news rocked Berlin and Brussels alike, as the German MEP was the lead candidate of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AFD) party. His assistant, Jian Guo, who was dismissed shortly after his arrest, was accused of being employed by the Chinese secret services. German prosecutors allege he handed over around 500 sensitive files to China and provided information about the inner machinations of European lawmaking. Guo's trial began in the eastern city of Dresden on Tuesday. Who is Maximilian Krah? Krah is a German lawyer and politician, and an influential figure within Germany's AFD party. Elected MEP in 2019, he was the lead candidate of the party at the 2024 European elections, where AFD reached a record result and came second after the Christian Democrats. In 2024, Krah said in an interview that not all Waffen SS members should be considered criminals. His controversial comments on the Nazi era, together with the allegations against his assistant, led to his party's expulsion from the European Parliament's Identity & Democracy Group. Krah's name also surfaced in the so-called Russia Gate scandal, where European opinion leaders around the site Voice of Europe promoted far-right and pro-Russian narratives. Krah denied receiving any funding from Russia, but he admitted he was interrogated by the FBI for his Russian ties. He also voted against different resolutions at the European Parliament criticising China's human rights record and warned against cutting economic ties with Beijing. Krah left his mandate at the European Parliament in 2025 after he was elected as a deputy to the Bundestag. Who is Jian Guo? Jian Guo, whose trial starts now and is the prime suspect of the Chinagate scandal, is a 44-year-old Chinese national with German citizenship. He met Krah when he worked as a businessman in Germany. After becoming an MEP. Krah employed him in Brussels at the European Parliament as his accredited assistant. According to German authorities, he repeatedly passed information about European Parliament debates and decisions on to his client. After his arrest, Krah said he was not aware of the spying activities of his employee and terminated his contract. What was the spying about? According to German prosecutors, Guo possessed around 500 sensitive documents from the European Parliament and passed them over to China. He allegedly collected personal information from the AfD leadership, including party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla. And he might have spied on Chinese opposition dissidents living in Germany. In his capacity as MEP, his former employer Krah was a member of the Parliament's committees on human rights, security and defence, and international trade. Shortly after his arrest, the Brussels offices of Jian Guo and Maximilian Krah were searched in the European Parliament. China denied any involvement in the spying activities and said it was part of a smear campaign against Beijing. The court case against Guo might reveal further details about his activities and the nature of information he provided. Why does it matter in Brussels? In recent years, the European institutions, and particularly the Parliament, have been hit with scandals related to influence peddling, particularly allegations of unlawful attempts by foreign powers to collect intelligence or influence decision-making. In February 2024, the European Parliament opened a formal probe into Latvian lawmaker Tatjana Ždanoka. She was, according to a Russian investigative newspaper, working as an agent for the Russian secret services. Ždanoka was alleged to be employed from 2004 to 2017 by the Federal Security Service (FSB). It was claimed that her job was to create pro-Kremlin sentiment in the Baltic region and to provide details about her work at the European Parliament. Qatar and Morocco were also accused of attempting to influence European Parliament officials and lobbyists in exchange for money in an investigation launched by the Belgian authorities in 2022 for corruption and money laundering, and several arrests have been made. Both countries, former MEPs and assistants in the spotlight, denied allegations. The European Parliament, in response, stepped up its fight against foreign interference and introduced fresh ethical rules.
Euronews
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Ex-aide to AfD lawmaker goes on trial in Germany for spying for China
A former aide to a lawmaker for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) went on trial on Tuesday accused of spying for China. Jian G worked for years as an assistant in the European Parliament to Maximilian Krah — a former MEP who now represents the AfD in Germany's parliament. The defendant, whose full name has not been disclosed in line with Germany's privacy laws, is accused of working for China's intelligence agency and repeatedly passing on information on negotiations and decisions in the EU Parliament between September 2019 and April 2024, when he was arrested. Federal prosecutors allege that Jian G obtained more than 500 documents, including some that the European Parliament had classified as particularly sensitive, for the Chinese intelligence service, his employer since 2002. They say that Jian G also collected personal information on the leadership of the AfD — including Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla — and snooped on Chinese opposition members and dissidents in Germany. A second defendant, a Chinese national identified only as Yaqi X, is accused of assisting Jian G by provided him with information regarding flights, cargo and passengers at Leipzig Airport. She passed along information about military equipment transport as well as details about people with connections to a German arms company, the federal prosecutors said. If found guilty, Jian G faces a jail term of up to 10 years while Yaqi X could be imprisoned for up to five years, according to the prosecutors. Beijing last year said reports in Europe about Chinese spying are all "hyping up with an aim to smear and suppress China". At the time of Jian G's arrest, Krah had been AfD's top candidate in the European Parliament elections, which occurred last June. The party banned him from the elections weeks later after he told an Italian newspaper that not all members of the Nazis' elite SS unit, which was involved in major war crimes during World War II, were war criminals. Nevertheless, Krah won a seat in the German parliament earlier this year as part of the party's historic gains in the Bundestag during the national election. Krah is also being investigated by prosecutors in Dresden on suspicion of money laundering and bribery during his time as an MEP. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Int'l Business Times
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Far-right German MP's Ex-aide On Trial For Spying For China
Two suspected spies for China, including a former assistant to far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) lawmaker Maximilian Krah, went on trial in the eastern city of Dresden on Tuesday. The German national Jian Guo allegedly worked for Chinese intelligence from 2002, including while working in the office of then-MEP Krah between 2019 and 2024. He is accused of using that position to pass on more than 500 documents, some deemed highly sensitive, to Beijing as well as information about decisions and debates at the European Parliament. Guo is also accused of being the handler for a second alleged operative, a Chinese national partially named as Yaqi X., who is accused of spying on German arms manufacturers. Prosecutor Stephan Morweiser told reporters that the case was "without precedent" in terms of Chinese spying activity in Germany. He said it was "particularly serious" as it shed light on "the extensive espionage interests that China has in relation to political, military and economic matters in Germany and the EU". Guo is also suspected of gathering intelligence on leading AfD politicians and spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany. This included posing as an opponent of the Chinese government on social media in order to gain contacts in the opposition scene. Guo's lawyer denied the charges on his behalf as the trial opened. The second defendant, Yaqi X., worked at a company which provided Leipzig airport with logistics services and is accused of helping Guo access information on flights and passengers. The information she passed on focused on flights transporting defence equipment and "people with links to a German arms company". According to German media reports, she particularly targeted arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and which uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights. Morweiser, the prosecutor, said that, if found guilty, Guo faces a jail term of up to 10 years while Yaqi X. could be imprisoned for up to five years. In recent months, several cases of alleged espionage for Moscow and Beijing have been made public in Germany. The trial of three German-Russians suspected of passing information to Russia and planning acts of sabotage targeting aid to Kyiv is also underway in Munich. Both defendants in the Dresden trial have been in detention since they were arrested last year. The trial could be particularly embarrassing for the AfD if it leads to the information Guo collected on the anti-immigration party becoming public. According to news weekly Der Spiegel, investigators have seized records that Guo kept of conversations with Krah and other AfD politicians in which they discussed the private life of party co-leader Alice Weidel and alleged power struggles with her colleague Tino Chrupalla. Krah denied to the magazine ever having discussed such matters with Guo. Krah was the AfD's top candidate in last year's European elections, but was excluded from its delegation after comments in which he minimised the crimes of the Nazis' notorious SS. However, he was welcomed back into the AfD fold for this year's German general election and now sits as one of the party's MPs in the Bundestag. The trial is expected to last until the end of September and Krah himself has been called to appear as a witness. Krah is also being investigated by prosecutors in Dresden on suspicion of money laundering and corruption during his time as a member of the European Parliament. According to Der Spiegel, between 2019 and 2023 he received more than 50,000 euros ($57,900) in payments from firms linked to Guo. Krah denies all wrongdoing and says the accusations against him are "politically motivated". Jian G. allegedly worked for Chinese intelligence from 2002, including while he was an aide to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP Krah between 2019 and 2024 AFP AFD politician Maximilian Krah has been called to appear as a witness AFP Defendant Yaqi X., seen from the back, at the start of the espionage trial in Dresden, eastern Germany AFP
HKFP
05-08-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Far-right German lawmaker's ex-aide on trial for spying for China
A German court will on Tuesday launch the trial of two suspected spies for China, one of whom worked as an assistant to the far-right lawmaker Maximilian Krah. The German national, partially identified as Jian G., allegedly worked for Chinese intelligence from 2002, including while he was an aide to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP Krah between 2019 and 2024. Jian G. is accused by prosecutors in Dresden of using that position to pass on information about debates and decisions at the European Parliament, as well as some documents deemed highly sensitive. He is also suspected of being the handler for a second alleged operative, Chinese national Yaqi X., who is accused of spying on elements of the German arms industry. Jian G. is also suspected of gathering intelligence on leading AfD politicians and spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany. This included posing as an opponent of the Chinese government on social media in order to gain contacts in the opposition scene. The second defendant, Yaqi X., worked at a company which provided Leipzig airport with logistics services and is accused of helping Jian G. access information on flights and passengers. The information she passed on focused on flights transporting defence equipment and 'people with links to a German arms company'. According to German media reports, she particularly targeted arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and which uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights. AfD 'power struggle' Both defendants have been in detention since they were arrested last year. The trial could be particularly embarrassing for the AfD if it leads to the information Jian G. collected on the party becoming public. According to news weekly Der Spiegel, investigators have seized records that Jian G. kept of conversations with Krah and other AfD politicians in which they discussed the private life of party co-leader Alice Weidel and alleged power struggles with her colleague Tino Chrupalla. Krah denied to the magazine ever having discussed such matters with Jian G. Krah was the AfD's top candidate in last year's European elections, but was excluded from its delegation after comments in which he minimised the crimes of the Nazis' notorious SS. However, he was welcomed back into the AfD fold for this year's German general election and now sits as one of the party's MPs in the Bundestag. The trial is expected to last until the end of September and Krah himself has been called to appear as a witness. Krah is also being investigated by prosecutors in Dresden on suspicion of money laundering and corruption during his time as a member of the European Parliament. According to Der Spiegel, between 2019 and 2023 he received more than 50,000 euros (US$57,900) in payments from firms linked to Jian G. Krah denies all wrongdoing and says the accusations against him are 'politically motivated'.
Local Germany
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
Alternative for Germany politician's ex-aide on trial for spying for China
The German national, partially identified as Jian G., allegedly worked for Chinese intelligence from 2002, including while he was an aide to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP Krah between 2019 and 2024. Jian G. is accused by prosecutors in Dresden of using that position to pass on information about debates and decisions at the European Parliament, as well as some documents deemed highly sensitive. He is also suspected of being the handler for a second alleged operative, Chinese national Yaqi X., who is accused of spying on elements of the German arms industry. Jian G. is also suspected of gathering intelligence on leading AfD politicians and spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany. This included posing as an opponent of the Chinese government on social media in order to gain contacts in the opposition scene. The second defendant, Yaqi X., worked at a company which provided Leipzig airport with logistics services and is accused of helping Jian G. access information on flights and passengers. The information she passed on focused on flights transporting defence equipment and "people with links to a German arms company". According to German media reports, she particularly targeted arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and which uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights. AfD 'power struggle' Both defendants have been in detention since they were arrested last year . The trial could be particularly embarrassing for the AfD if it leads to the information Jian G. collected on the party becoming public. Advertisement According to news weekly Der Spiegel , investigators have seized records that Jian G. kept of conversations with Krah and other AfD politicians in which they discussed the private life of party co-leader Alice Weidel and alleged power struggles with her colleague Tino Chrupalla. Krah denied to the magazine ever having discussed such matters with Jian G. Krah was the AfD's top candidate in last year's European elections, but was excluded from its delegation after comments in which he minimised the crimes of the Nazis' notorious SS. However, he was welcomed back into the AfD fold for this year's German general election and now sits as one of the party's MPs in the Bundestag. READ ALSO: Scandal-hit AfD politician makes comeback in German Bundestag The trial is expected to last until the end of September and Krah himself has been called to appear as a witness. Krah is also being investigated by prosecutors in Dresden on suspicion of money laundering and corruption during his time as a member of the European Parliament. According to Der Spiegel , between 2019 and 2023 he received more than 50,000 euros in payments from firms linked to Jian G. Krah denies all wrongdoing and says the accusations against him are "politically motivated".
