Overview
- The Administrative Court in Berlin on Thursday rejected the AfD’s bid to get back the seized funds, so the Bundestag administration keeps roughly €2.35 million.
- The judges said the party should not have accepted the gift because the true source was unclear at the time, which makes such donations illegal under Germany’s party‑finance law.
- The court struck down a separate payment order signed by Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, ruling she lacked the authority to issue it.
- The money financed 6,395 campaign posters for the 2025 vote and was reported as a donation by Austrian ex‑FPÖ official Gerhard Dingler, while transfer records from Austria’s anti‑money‑laundering unit and media reports point to billionaire Henning Conle as the likely source.
- The AfD had forwarded the sum under reservation to avoid a triple penalty and may appeal, and the case is driving calls for a donation cap and stronger tools to trace cross‑border money.