THAT comes at the wrong time for the SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz (63)!
Six days before the federal elections and in the middle of the dispute over the money laundering unit FIU, as finance minister, of all things, the staff council of the federal banking and finance supervision (Bafin, 3000 employees) gives him direct joint responsibility for the state failure when the Dax went bankrupt -Group Wirecard!
In its current employee info (issue 4/2021), the staff council writes of those who “bear the actual political responsibility for this scandal”: Scandal and consequences for the Bafin workforce would not have been necessary, “if one (.. .) made the right decisions at the highest political level ”.
Meant: Scholz and his state secretaries!
FDP financial expert Florian Toncar to BILD: “The staff council is absolutely right: Scholz throws sand in the eyes of the citizens. His wrong decisions and his lack of interest have allowed the largest case of fraud of our time. “
Scholz has to report to the finance committee
Today Scholz also has to testify to the Bundestag finance committee – topics: the release of the minutes in the CumEx scandal and the search in the Ministry of Finance due to deficiencies in the money laundering FBI (FIU). FIU employees are said to have not passed on information about terrorist financing to the judiciary and the police in good time.
The Union and FDP attacked Scholz sharply before the committee meeting. Scholz ‘”allegations against the work of the public prosecutor” are “completely unacceptable”, said Union parliamentary group vice Carsten Linnemann of the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”. “It’s just not right, not even in the hottest election campaign, because it undermines trust in our rule of law.”
Scholz and his team had previously criticized the search in the Ministry of Finance and presented it as a political maneuver in the election campaign. SPD leader Saskia Esken even called the raid in the SWR “inappropriate”.
Linnemann called for a comprehensive clarification of the customs affair. “Olaf Scholz is applying for the highest government office in Germany. In this respect, he himself must have an interest in the immediate and complete clarification of the processes in his ministry and the subordinate authorities. ”CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt told the“ Rheinische Post ”that the searches in Scholz’s federal ministry were“ no small matter and also none established practice”.
“Scholz’s attempt to attack the judiciary shows that he apparently wants to distract from the background of the investigation,” added Dobrindt.
FDP general secretary Volker Wissing accused Scholz of errors and omissions in the fight against money laundering and tax fraud. “Customs was and is a case of restructuring when I look at the fight against money laundering and illegal work,” said the FDP politician. “The problems with staff, equipment and the lack of professional competence in this area have been known for a long time and unfortunately they also show the little importance that both the CDU and the SPD attach to the fight against money laundering.”