German MP Fined for Having Business in Belarus - He Grows Onions
Jörg Dornau, a member of the parliament of the German state of Saxony from the far-right Alternative for Germany party, was fined for his undeclared business in Belarus, which is growing onions.
This was reported by Welt.
In June, journalists of Welt published an investigation about Dornau, where they found that since October 2020, he has been a co-owner and director of the Belarusian agricultural enterprise Tsybulka-Bel LLC.
Dornau, who is the spokesperson for agricultural policy of the AfD faction in Saxony and owns a farm, grows onions on several hundred hectares in the border region of Belarus near Poland and Lithuania.
In addition, according to Welt, the AfD politician met several times in secret with supporters of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. He did not publicly report on his meetings and business in Belarus.
The Presidium of the Saxon Parliament found that Dornau had violated his obligation to disclose information under the law and fined him €20,862, three times the monthly salary of a state deputy.
"No one can simply go to dictatorial Belarus and set up a farm there, especially no one from Germany," commented Rico Gebhardt, head of the Left Party's Saxony faction.
Earlier, the media revealed that a member of the German far-right party Alternative for Germany, Petr Bystron, could also secretly visit Belarus at the end of 2022.
The politician is involved in an investigation by the Munich prosecutor's office, which suspects him of receiving money from Russia.