Rhineland-Palatinate's AfD repays the political group's funds to the Landtag.
In a recent development, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) faction in the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament has repaid approximately 182,000 euros to the state parliament following allegations of misuse of public funds.
The repayment was confirmed by a spokesman for the state parliament on Wednesday, in response to a demand from the parliament. The refund was made due to the AfD faction not using the funds lawfully, as accused by the State Audit Office in their audit report.
The allegations, which were made public last month on our website, cited the mixing up of faction and party work, particularly in cases of party advertising. The AfD faction leader, Jan Bollinger, stated that the entire refund amount was paid back in a timely manner.
It is worth noting that the AfD faction had already refunded around 60,000 euros, as stated by Bollinger, in cases where the Audit Office had rightly criticized expenses. However, the exact nature and extent of the misuse of funds between 2016 and 2018, which the Audit Office claims amounted to approximately 243,000 euros, remains unclear.
The president of the state parliament publishes the accounts of the fractions as parliamentary papers, providing a transparent view of the faction's income and expenditure. The AfD faction plans to take legal action against some points criticized by the Audit Office.
It is important to emphasize that this repayment was made subject to a legal review. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, it would be best to consult official reports or news articles from that time period, as local or national media outlets in Germany often report on such matters.
The AfD faction's repayment of 182,000 euros to the state parliament, following allegations of misuse of funds, was in response to a demand from the parliament and supports the claim of illegal use of funds made by the State Audit Office in their audit report. The general news further reports that the AfD faction plans to contest some points criticized by the Audit Office in the subsequent policy-and-legislation and politics sectors.
