According to a media report, FDP leader Christian Lindner is threatened with criminal proceedings for taking advantage. In order to be able to investigate him, the authorities are currently examining the lifting of his immunity as a member of parliament. The background: a greeting for a private bank and a loan.
Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner apparently concealed the fact that he had taken out a loan from the institute for his private house purchase when preparing a ministerial greeting for a private customer bank in Karlsruhe in May 2022. Because, according to a report in the "Tagesspiegel" after the greeting, he had another loan from the same bank, he is now threatened with criminal proceedings for accepting an advantage.
As the newspaper reports, the corruption department of the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office is currently examining the lifting of Lindner's immunity as a member of the Bundestag in order to be able to formally investigate. A spokesman stressed that this was "usual in such cases and without making a statement about the existence of an initial suspicion." A decision is therefore expected soon.
Lindner's actions could be punishable if the second loan is related to the official greeting. It's a matter of circumstances. In order to accept an advantage, however, no reference to a specific official act is required. It should be prevented that the mere appearance of venality is created by officials. Therefore, there could also be a threat of investigations into those responsible at BBBank for granting advantages.
When asked, Lindner denied that there was a connection between his real estate financing and the greeting. From his point of view, there was also no obligation to disclose the private business relationship with BBBank in the ministry. The reason for the public prosecutor's investigation was media reports from "Spiegel" last October about Lindner's private house purchase.
