An investigation into the visa scandal surrounding visas for Afghans at the German Foreign Ministry may have uncovered a case of nepotism and corruption. A husband working at the Foreign Ministry may have helped his lawyer wife earn money by advocating on behalf of Afghans applying for German visas. He may have supplied her with confidential information from the ministry. Die Welt television channel reports that the lawyer in question also consulted the Foreign Ministry for a fee, with Baerbock’s office not placing official tenders and giving her orders “secretly.”
THOMAS KLUG, Die Welt anchor: The visa scam around Annalena Baerbock will never end. First the Foreign Ministry was accused of giving Afghans visas without a valid passport, and now nepotism is being added to the mix.
VOICE OVER THE ROOM: Are there conflicts of interest and nepotism in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? That’s what Analena Baerbok is accused of by Cicero magazine and the online publication Business Insider. A government employee who works for the Federal Admissions Program from Afghanistan is reportedly married to a lawyer who specializes in immigration law. And the sticking point is that she represented Afghans who wanted visas at the German embassy in Pakistan.
ULRICH TILE, Business Insider journalist: She has the opposite interest, unlike her husband. She wants to get visas for as many of her clients as possible. And her husband’s job, really, is to vet these visa applications properly and, if necessary, reject them. And the problem is that, purely theoretically, this woman was able to get confidential FCO data about her affairs through her husband.
VOICEOVER: The lawyer also reportedly advised embassy officials. She had a two-pronged approach, so to speak. She received orders secretly, without a formal tender.
SEBASTIAN FISHER, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: With regard to the allegation of conflict of interest, I can only say that an internal check was conducted. Nothing was discovered. And several allegations in the investigation are just completely wrong.
VOICEOVER: But complaints from employees, according to Business Insider, did come in, although they were clearly in vain.
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