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Maximilian Krah

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Maximilian Krah
MEP
Krah in 2016
Member of the European Parliament
for Germany
Incumbent
Assumed office
2 July 2019[1][2]
Personal details
Born (1977-01-28) 28 January 1977 (age 47)
Räckelwitz, East Germany
Political partyAlternative for Germany (since 2016)
Other political
affiliations		Christian Democratic Union of Germany (1991–2016)

Maximilian Krah (born January 28, 1977) is a German lawyer and self-described right-wing politician.[3][4] He is serving as a member of the European Parliament for the far-right Alternative for Germany.[5] He is 2024 member of the Parliamentarian Group Identity and Democracy and was suspended two times from this Parliamentarian Group since 2019.

In April 2024, Krah gained international attention when the German Prosecutor General arrested his assistant, suspected of spying for China by passing on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to China's intelligence service.[6][7][8][9]

Biography

Krah grew up in Upper Lusatia as the youngest of three children. His mother was a teacher and his father Peter Krah was an engineer, an executive for the local chapter of the Christian Democratic Union and later an advisor to the Ministry for Interior and Sports of Lower Saxony.[10] After high school, Krah studied law at the Technical University of Dresden followed by an MBA at the London Business School and the Columbia Business School in New York. In 2004 he completed state examinations to practice as a lawyer and was called to the bar in 2005. He also ran a law firm in Dresden with two colleagues.[11][12]

Krah lives in Dresden. He is a practicing Catholic, is widowed and has eight children by three women.[10][13][14][15]

Political career

Krah joined the Junge Union in 1991, the youth wing of the CDU. During his studies he was also active in the Association of Christian Democratic Students. Krah left the CDU in 2016.[16] In that same year, Krah joined Alternative for Germany and was elected deputy chairman of the AfD Saxony in February 2018.[17][18]

In 2019, Krah was elected as an MEP for the AfD.[19] In the European Parliament he sits as a member of the Identity and Democracy group and is a member of the committees for Relations with the United States, International Trade (INTA) and Deputy Member of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. He also served as the spokesman for the AfD in the European Parliament until 2022.[20]

Krah ran for the election on June 12, 2022 as Mayor of Dresden. He received 14.2 percent of the votes and came in 4th place behind Mayor Dirk Hilbert, Eva Jähnigen and Albrecht Pallas. In the second round of voting, Krah lost again with 12.2 percent, coming in third place behind Dirk Hilbert and Eva Jähnigen.[21]

In July 2023 he was named as the AFD top candidate in the 2024 European Parliament election.[22]

Political positions

Krah at a AfD-campain in Nordhausen, Thuringia in 2023

Krah rejects the term "conservative" for himself and the AfD; he clearly describes his political affiliation as "right-wing".[23] Within the party, Krah is considered a follower of Der Flügel within the AfD under the informal leadership of Björn Höcke, a regional leader of the party in Thuringia.[24] Höcke also supported Krah's candidacy as the AfD's top candidate for the 2024 European elections.[25]

Krah has given several lectures at Götz Kubitschek's "Institute for State Policy (IfS)", which the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified as "certainly right-wing extremist".[25] In 2023, Krah also had his book Politics from the Right published by Verlag Antaios; according to AfD Bundestag member Norbert Kleinwächter, it is a manifesto that is explicitly "anti-rule of law, anti-international law, anti-ethical".[26]

International Policy

Krah claims to reject the European Union, but he did not refuse being elected to its parliament. He calls for a "great reset" for the EU, and called the European Union a "vassal of the United States".[27]

Influencer for PR China

In 2019 Krah voted against a European parliamentary resolution in which VR China was ordered to stop suppressing the rights of the Uyghur people, calling criticism of China’s human rights record “anti-Chinese propaganda”.[28]

In November 2022, the Global Times, the Chinese Communist Party's newspaper, published a long interview with Krah. Regarding Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, Krah said: "Waging America's wars is not in our interest and not in the interest of the Ukrainians." He also said that cooperation between Russia, China, Brazil and the EU would be more attractive "than a new Cold War under the leadership of the USA".[29]

Krah congratulated the Chinese government in a video on the 70th birthday of the People's Republic.[27] He also congratulated China on the 70th anniversary of the Chinese occupation of Tibet: "You are now celebrating 70 years of the Tibet Autonomous Region, I think you have every reason to be proud of what you have achieved."[29] Krah is also instisting that Taiwan belongs to Beijing under international law.[28]

In 2023 Krah traveled to China at the expense of the Chinese government. He had several conversations with the Chinese intelligence service IDCPC. He later campaigned for Chinese economic interests in Germany, going against the line of his right-wing radical nationalist party AfD. An employee from his environment received money from China before and after his trip.[30]

There is a Chinese network of relationships: Krah confidante Torsten Voss sits on the board of the association "Neue Seidenstraße e. V." (New Silk Road)[29] On 23 April 2024, German police arrested Krah's parliamentary aide Jian Guo, a German of Chinese origin, on suspicion of spying for China.[31]

Influencer for Russia

Krah was involved in the now discovered Russian influence network called "Voice of Europe". In 2024 he denied receiving any money from anyone connected with Russia.

In December 2023, Krah traveled to the USA and attended a Young Republicans event in New York City.

There, the pro-Russian activist Oleg Voloshyn wrote to him in chat messages that the problem with "compensation" for "technical expenses" had been solved, and that from May onwards "it will be as it was before February". The FBI became aware of this while observing Oleg Voloshin and interviewed Krah in New York City.[32][33]

The wording used in the chats suggests that Krah may have been paid by Russia for a long time. Only after German media reported on it did Krah admit being interrogated by the FBI in April 2024.[32]

In 2020 the AfD fraction in Bundestag invited Viktor Medvedchuk, who had at this time allready an entry ban to the US. He campaigned for the legitimacy of the Russian attack on Crimea and was welcomed by Petr Bystron and Maximilian Krah. One year late Bystron and Krah visited Medvedchuk in the Ukrain.[34]

Cooperation with other right-wing politicians

Krahs is very active on TikTok and tries to reach 16-year-old first-time voters. Krah's social media strategy is carefully orchestrated with the help of another right-wing political activist.[35][36][37]

Financial influence cases

In February 2023, Krah was suspended from the "Identity and Democracy" (ID) parliamentary group, to which the AfD belongs in the EU Parliament, due to allegations of fraud. Krah's office had received strikingly similar bid documents from three companies for an advertising contract – the documents even had the same typos. The tender process was stopped. After an anonymous letter to the EU anti-corruption authority OLAF, that office got involved. The fraud investigation concluded without further action.[38]

Krah is closely linked to the AfD candidate Arno Bausemer. During the election campaign, the media revealed that Bausemer had invented parts of his CV. In the summer, Krah tried to influence Bausemer's ex-girlfriend, the AfD politician Bianca Wolter. He wanted to ensure that Wolter did not comment negatively on Bausemer. He promised her financial benefits for her and her child if Bausemer was elected to the EU Parliament.[39]

Employing a potential Chinese spy

At the end of April 2024, the German Public Prosecutor General had Maximilan Krah's parliamentary employee Jian Guo arrested by the German police and his home in Dresden and his apartment in Brussels has been searched.[40] Jian Guo is said to work for the Chinese secret service MSS; the German public prosecutor’s office said about Jian Guo: "the accused repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence service client." He is also said to have been in Chinese dissident circles and to have spied on the Chinese democratic opposition in Germany.[41] Krah brought Guo into his team in Brussels as an assistant in 2019 after he was elected to the European Parliament.[42]

The EU Parliament has suspended Jian Guo from duty. "Following the decision of the German judicial authorities to arrest a person currently working as an accredited assistant (APA) in the European Parliament, and given the seriousness of the revelations, Parliament has suspended the person in question with immediate effect," the parliament said.[43]

On May 7th, 2024 authorities searched the European parliament office of a German lawmaker Maximilan Krah in Brussels on behalf of Germans Public Prosecutor General.[40]

According to German media, the public prosecutor's office is investigating the suspicion that Krah, his law firm and his parliamentary office were financially supported by Gou over a long period of time with high five-figure sums - and whether this money may have come from the Chinese secret service.[44]

Jian Guo

Jian Guo is of Chinese descent, came to Germany from China in 2002 and initially studied at the Technical University Dresden. In the following years he worked as a businessman.[45] He applied and get the German nationality.

As ARD found out, Jian Guo had previously offered itself as a source to the German Federal Intelligence Service BND. However, the BND is said to have refused and referred Guo to the Saxon State Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Saxon officials from the office said, Guo has been an informant there from 2007 to 2018. He was “shut down” in 2018, at least a year before he started at Krah.[45]

Jian Guo had worked for Krah since his election to the European Union legislature in 2019.[40]

He is member of the AfD.[45]

Reactions

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) spoke of "extremely serious" allegations.[43]

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) said the fact that the employee of the AfD-EU top candidate presumably works for the Chinese secret service should not surprise his boss. In addition, number two on the AfD European list, Bundestag member Petr Bystron, is suspected of being paid by Russia. "Both should, based on human discretion, resign their candidacy instead of further damaging our country. ... These are really nice 'patriots' who are constantly selling Germany to China and Russia," said Strack-Zimmermann.[46]

The NGO Lobbycontrol accused Maximilian Krah of failing to investigate allegations of espionage against his employee Jian Guo. "The suspicion of espionage against his employee has been known since 2023, and Krah did not draw any conclusions at the time," explained Aurel Eschmann from Lobbycontrol. In doing so, Krah "endangered not only the integrity of the EU, but also its security interests." Eschmann emphasized that Krah was "no longer tenable" as the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections. "He should also resign his mandate in the EU Parliament immediately."[46]

Krah himself said that he was surprised.[43]

References

  1. ^ "Key dates ahead". European Parliament. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Key dates ahead". BBC News. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. ^ Laschyk, Thomas (1 February 2019). "AfDler erklärt offen, warum sie vom Verfassungsschutz beobachtet werden müssen". Volksverpetzer (in German). Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  4. ^ Volk, Volkssouveränität, Verfassung - Dr. Maximilian Krah beim IfS, retrieved 29 July 2023
  5. ^ "Alle Gewählte in alphabetischer Reihenfolge". Der Bundeswahlleiter (in German). Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Germany spying: Far-right party aide held in China spy probe". 23 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  7. ^ Picheta, Rob (23 April 2024). "Germany arrests aide to far-right MEP on suspicion of spying for China". CNN. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  8. ^ "German far-right MEP's assistant accused of being a Chinese spy". Le Monde.fr. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  9. ^ Nyheter, S. V. T. (23 April 2024). "Tysk gripen misstänkt för spioneri – medhjälpare till toppkandidat i EU-valet". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  10. ^ a b Doreen Reinhard: Radikaler Aufsteiger. In: Zeit Online, 16 May 2019.
  11. ^ Weiler Krah Petersen http://www.wkp.legal/. Retrieved 30 June 2019. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ Kurzbiographie Dr. Maximilian Krah, MBA at the Wayback Machine (archived 2019-08-27), Website der Kanzlei Weiler Krah Petersen, retrieved 30 August 2019.
  13. ^ AfD.de: Europawahlkandidaten at the Wayback Machine (archived 2019-05-13)
  14. ^ Dirk Hein; Franziska Klemenz; Ulrich Wolf (25 May 2022), "Maximilian der Identitäre", Sächsische Zeitung (in German)
  15. ^ "Dating-Tipps von Maximilian Krah sorgen für Häme". www.saechsische.de (in German). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  16. ^ Lars Wienand (20 September 2016). "Ein Schwuler und ein Rechtsaußen werben für den CDU-Austritt". Berliner Morgenpost. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  17. ^ "Einst CDU-Rechtsaußen, nun AfD-Vize". Saechsische.de. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  18. ^ "Landesvorstand Sachsen". AfD Sachsen (in German). Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  19. ^ "AfD-Kandidatinnen beklagen "EU-Albtraum"". Zeit Online. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  20. ^ Dr. Nicolaus Fest ist neuer Leiter der AfD-Delegation im EU-Parlament, Website der Fraktion Identität & Demokratie, 9 February 2022, retrieved 17 June 2022.
  21. ^ Landeshauptstadt Dresden. "Oberbürgermeisterwahl 2022, 12 June 2022, Vorläufiges Endergebnis". Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Germany: Far-right AfD picks top EU election candidate – DW – 07/29/2023". dw.com. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  23. ^ Joswig, Gareth (27 July 2023). "AfD-Parteitag in Magdeburg: Rechts, radikal, unbeliebt". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  24. ^ Joswig, Gareth (20 March 2023). "Neuer Vorstand der AfD Berlin: Rechtsaußen ist noch ein bisschen Platz". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  25. ^ a b "Maximilian Krah: Das ist der AfD-Spitzenkandidat für die EU". ZDFheute (in German). 29 July 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  26. ^ Preuß, Roland (29 July 2023). "Maximilian Krah als AfD-Spitzenkandidat: Abriss mit Ansage". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  27. ^ a b Kissler, Alexander (1 July 2023). "Beim Russen buckeln gehen? Die AfD streitet über ihren aussenpolitischen Kurs". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  28. ^ a b Connolly, Kate (24 April 2024). "AfD politician to run in European elections despite aide's alleged spying for China". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  29. ^ a b c Huesmann, Jan Sternberg,Can Merey,Felix (7 July 2023). "Alice Weidel in Peking: Warum Chinas Kommunisten die AfD hofieren". www.rnd.de (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ "Krahs China-Gate: Geld, Geheimdienste und ein Mann namens G." www.t-online.de (in German). 1 October 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  31. ^ New York Times (23 April 2024): Germany Arrests Far-Right Lawmaker’s Aide on Suspicion of Spying for China, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/world/europe/germany-china-spying.html
  32. ^ a b ""Kompensationen für technische Ausgaben": FBI befragte AfD-Politiker Krah zu möglichen Zahlungen aus Russland". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  33. ^ "Germania-Usa: Krah (Afd) interrogato dall'Fbi per i contatti con la Russia". Agenzia Nova (in Italian). Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  34. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puKp3YXPtfs&t=501s
  35. ^ Bovermann, Philipp; Frehler, Tim (6 February 2024). "Rechtsextremismus auf Tiktok: Wieso die AfD und Identitäre dort so erfolgreich sind". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  36. ^ "Lob für Taliban und Nähe zu den Identitären – das ist AfD-Mann Krah". www.fr.de (in German). 2 August 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  37. ^ Guggenberger, Jonathan. "Warum die AfD bei TikTok so erfolgreich ist und was daraus für Demokraten folgt". Der Freitag (in German). ISSN 0945-2095. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
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  39. ^ "Unmoralisches Angebot AfD-Spitzenmann: Krah will Hochstapler-Ex mit Geld ruhig stellen". www.t-online.de (in German). 9 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  40. ^ a b c "Police search Brussels office of prominent far-right German lawmaker over China spying allegations". AP News. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  41. ^ "Germany arrests EU Parliament aide over bombshell China spying claims". POLITICO. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  42. ^ Saul, Philipp (23 April 2024). "AfD - Krah-Mitarbeiter soll für China spioniert haben". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  43. ^ a b c "Spionagevorwürfe gegen AfD-Mitarbeiter: Faeser sieht Krah in Verantwortung". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  44. ^ WDR/NDR, Florian Flade, Katja Riedel, Petra Blum und Sebastian Pittelkow. "Ist Geld aus China auch bei AfD-Politiker Krah gelandet?". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 21 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  45. ^ a b c SWR, Andrea Becker RBB, Michael Götschenberg, ARD-Hauptstadtstudio, Georg Heil, rbb und Holger Schmidt. "Spionage-Verdacht gegen Mitarbeiter: Durchsuchung bei Krah in Brüssel". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 7 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  46. ^ a b "Strack-Zimmermann fordert Rücktritt: Mitarbeiter von AfD-Politiker Krah wegen mutmaßlicher Spionage festgenommen". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 23 April 2024.


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