German Finance Minister Christian Lindner is facing pressure over a real estate loan after reports emerged that he had provided a video greeting for the bank that issued it.
(Bloomberg) — German Finance Minister Christian Lindner is facing pressure over a real estate loan after reports emerged that he had provided a video greeting for the bank that issued it.
The Berlin attorney general’s office is looking into whether to ask parliament to lift his immunity to allow an investigation to take place after the matter was first reported by Der Spiegel magazine in October, a spokesman said on Monday.
The preliminary review is ongoing, he said, adding that the move is usual in such cases and doesn’t mean authorities have already found evidence that would warrant opening a probe against the minister.
Tagesspiegel newspaper reported on Sunday that Lindner, who had already taken out a home loan with Karlsruhe-based BBBank, agreed to a request for a greeting video to mark its 100-year anniversary before then taking out another loan with the same bank.
Lindner’s attorney, Christian Schertz, told German news agency DPA that all conditions provided by the bank were in line with the market and that he began his real-estate financing long before he assumed ministerial office.
Schertz didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokeswoman for the Finance Ministry told a government news conference in Berlin that BBBank had made the request in writing and that it wasn’t unusual for ministers or state secretaries to give greetings to all kinds of institutions.
Lars Klingbeil, co-head of the Social Democrats, who lead Germany’s governing coalition, declined to comment in detail on the accusations, saying that authorities would now have to look into the matter.
–With assistance from Karin Matussek and Michael Nienaber.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.