At the center of the controversy is 214,000 euros in cash in a bond belonging to Johannes Kahrs, a former deputy of the Social Democratic Party (SPD, its acronym is German), who ran the local Hamburg organization in 2016 while Scholz was mayor. .
According to German media, the money may be linked to the Warburg Bank scandal, which a committee of the local parliament has been investigating for more than two years.
In 2016, after a series of meetings between the directors of the company and the SPD, the financial authorities of the port city returned 47 million euros that this bank had received through irregular transactions.
As a mayor, Scholz has already denied that he had any influence over the decision of the financial authorities.
Der Spiegel wrote that there was no evidence that the money found in the vault was related to the Warburg Bank case.
However, the financial institution provided at least 45,000 euros to the Hamburg SPD, mostly to the organization led by Kahrs.
According to bank owner Christian Oliarius’ notes, Kurz brokered his meetings with the then-mayor and current president in 2016 and 2017.
Kahrs has yet to comment on the source of the money and a government spokesman said this week that Scholes was unaware of its existence.
Other media reported this week that the Cologne prosecutor’s office (West) ordered an examination of Scholes’ email account from his time as mayor in March to help clear up the case.
Scholz’s second testimony is scheduled for August 19 before a parliamentary committee in Hamburg.
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