Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Schwesig strengthens cabinet members

Berlin/Schwerin (dpa/mv) - The Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), claims to have known nothing about the burning of tax documents from the controversial climate foundation in the country.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Schwesig strengthens cabinet members

Berlin/Schwerin (dpa/mv) - The Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), claims to have known nothing about the burning of tax documents from the controversial climate foundation in the country. She thus confirmed statements by her finance and justice ministers that neither of them informed her about it. "And I also think that's correct," said Schwesig on Sunday in the ARD program "Report from Berlin". A prime minister should not interfere in tax and public prosecutor matters.

In an eight-and-a-half-hour survey by the Schwerin state parliament's legal and finance committee on Friday, Finance Minister Heiko Geue (SPD) again indicated that tax secrecy had prevented such information from being passed on. In the question of a release from secrecy, the foundation and the Ministry of Finance have made statements against statements: according to the foundation, this was not requested, according to the ministry, full release was refused until the end of February.

An employee of the Ribnitz-Damgarten tax office had burned three submissions from the climate foundation as part of the check for gift tax liability. This is about taxes totaling 9.8 million euros on payments in the millions from the gas pipeline operator Nord Stream 2. According to the responsible public prosecutor's office in Stralsund, the employee acted out of self-protection. The authority ruled out any political influence, Schwesig referred to this on Sunday.