Overview
- Documents reviewed by Green MPs indicate Joe Chialo personally authorized the release of funds at the end of February 2025.
- CDU leaders Dirk Stettner and Christian Goiny are accused of telling the culture administration which projects to fund, including cases without formal applications, reflected in an internal 18-item “Stettner/Goiny list.”
- Of €3.4 million set aside for projects of particular political significance, about €2.65 million had been approved by mid-September, including €390,000 to a provider linked to a CDU colleague of Goiny in Lichterfelde.
- Chialo’s successor Sarah Wedl-Wilson reportedly approved funding despite staff objections and waived the usual 10% own-funds requirement, after Chialo in April had reassigned responsibility from his state secretary and in August 14 projects totaling roughly €2.66 million were reported to the budget committee.
- CDU faction chief Stettner dismissed the allegations as baseless, the culture administration called talks with governing factions routine and said directives from individual lawmakers were not known, and Tagesspiegel reported Chialo and Goiny did not respond to inquiries.