German prosecutors launched an investigation into a lawmaker of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on suspicion of bribery and money laundering and searched several properties on Thursday.
According to dpa information, the person in question is Petr Bystron, the second candidate on the party's ticket for the European elections in June. Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, had waived Bystron's immunity.
The public prosecutor's office in Munich said searches were planned for Bystron's office in Berlin, several locations in Bavaria in the districts of Munich, Erding and Deggendorf and on the Spanish island of Mallorca during the course of Thursday.
According to the report, 11 public prosecutors and around 70 officers from the Bavarian police force were deployed.
Properties of witnesses who are not accused in the proceedings were also searched, a spokesman for the public prosecution said. The main aim was to seize documents and data carriers in order to search them for evidence, he said.
Bystron and another leading AfD politician, Maximilian Krah, have come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks for alleged links to pro-Russian networks. Following media reports about possible payments to both politicians, public prosecutors recently examined whether to open an investigation.
