The Justice Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania saw no reason to inform the public about the burning of the tax documents.
(Photo: imago images/BildFunkMV)
Schwerin, Berlin The state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is coming under further pressure because of the affair surrounding the construction of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline. Justice Minister Jacqueline Bernhardt (left), who was informed at an early stage about the illegal destruction of tax documents from the state-affiliated climate foundation, has now come into focus.
Although Parliament had repeatedly asked for clarification on the whereabouts of the documents, the minister kept her knowledge to herself. This is evidenced by documents from the judicial authorities that are available to the Handelsblatt.
The red-red government under Manuela Schwesig (SPD) founded the climate foundation in early 2021 in order to be able to use it as a platform for the further construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The aim was to avoid imminent US sanctions against the major project.
In order to finance the work on Nord Stream 2, the foundation received 20 million euros from the Russian state-owned company Gazprom. The Climate Foundation submitted a tax return to the tax office, which then disappeared.
A few days ago, the magazine “Cicero” reported that a tax officer had already burned the tax return in spring 2022. The officer was not responsible for the case according to the current status, but found the document in her office. Because she feared trouble with her superiors, she took the tax return with her and then burned it in her mother’s fireplace, according to a report by the public prosecutor’s office to the Ministry of Justice in Schwerin.
Because she was plagued by her conscience, the officer revealed herself to her superior some time later, who turned on the Stralsund public prosecutor’s office. On the 2nd of May last year, the investigators initiated proceedings against the tax officer and informed the Ministry of Justice. There, the information from the investigators triggered large waves.
Just on these days, the opposition had demanded clarification about the whereabouts of the missing tax return. Finance Minister Heiko Geue (SPD) walled off. His cabinet colleague Bernhardt also remained silent, although she knew about the burned papers by May 10 at the latest.
On that day, the lawyer opened an assessment of the case on her computer that a department head had prepared for her. The ministry’s internal system records who opened which document and when. An evaluation of the system is available to the Handelsblatt.
The government’s silence
In the statement to the minister, the employee points out that the public prosecutor’s office could quickly drop the case. An unusual procedure in a case of this magnitude. The financing of Nord Stream 2 and the climate foundation involved caused an international sensation, even before Russia invaded Ukraine.
>> Read here: Why the Nord Stream Sabotage Conspiracy is Constructed – a Commentary
The responsible ministries of justice and finance initially did not comment on the allegations. Minister Bernhardt said, however, that she saw no reason to inform the public.
The opposition sees it differently: At their request, the finance and legal committees will meet for special sessions in the next few days. The FDP parliamentary group leader René Domke called for a complete clarification of the events.
Ministers Geue and Bernhardt should finally give answers, said Harald Terpe (Greens). For Franz-Robert Liskow from the CDU, the behavior of the state government is simply “indecent”.
More: Climate Foundation made millions from completion of Nord Stream 2