Relax, Mario Voigt can heave a sigh of relief: The Erfurt Public Prosecutor's Office has dropped the corruption probe against the CDU's Thuringia leader. No evidence of bribery was found despite the initial allegations of a consulting fee related to an internet agency contract during the European People's Party (EPP) digital election campaign in 2019.
The authorities began investigating in September 2022, following Voigt's appointment as CDU parliamentary group leader and state party chief in Mar 2020 and Sep 2021 respectively. Searches were conducted at Voigt's Thuringian and Brussels residences and offices, with evidence confiscated.
Voigt, a political scientist, has been an Erfurt state parliament member since 2009, and originally denied any wrongdoing. He publicly published the financial statements of his business ventures online to clear his name. The Thuringian state parliament justice committee lifted Voigt's parliamentary immunity, enabling the probe to proceed.
However, the EPP found no wrongdoing in their digital election campaign, conducted under Voigt's leadership. Ultimately, the diligent investigation by the Erfurt Public Prosecutor's Office and Thuringian State Criminal Police Office concluded with Voigt's exoneration, as no evidence of corruption was discovered.
Intriguingly, Voigt is one of several new faces in CDU leadership roles, often entering offices without prior governmental experience, such as in Saxony and Thuringia[2]. Despite this, no specific investigations related to Mario Voigt have been reported in other sources or news articles.
Source:
Enrichment Data: During this period, CDU faced internal and external challenges. Friedrich Merz, a prominent CDU member, left to build a new party, the Alliance for Germany. This created a leadership vacuum, and in the states, some new faces like Mario Voigt, a political scientist with no previous governmental experience, stepped into roles in Saxony and Thuringia. Merz claimed that CDU developed a wrong image of stability, and the fresh faces symbolized a new era and rejuvenation of the party. However, there is no specific available data or information about the corruption investigation against Thuringia's CDU leader Mario Voigt mentioned in the sources provided.
