DPA Correspondent l Friday, March 24, 2023
STUTTGART – Founder of Germany’s right-wing “Querdenken” (Lateral Thinking) movement, Michael Ballweg is to face charges relating to attempted fraud, money-laundering and tax offences, Stuttgart prosecutors said on Friday.
Ballweg, 48, has been in custody for around nine months. A spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office declined to provide further details, citing confidentiality requirements on matters relating to tax. A date for the trial has yet to be set.
Ballweg’s lawyers have in the past rejected all allegations made against their client.
According to the allegations, Ballweg secured more than a million euros ($1.07 million dollars) from several thousand supporters for “Querdenken 711,” deceiving the donors as to the use of the money.
Prosecutors allege that he diverted more than €500,000 ($540,000) for his own ends, giving rise to the charge of attempted fraud.
In relation to the money-laundering charge, Ballweg is alleged to have concealed the apparently illegal source of the money through four cash withdrawals. Other money-laundering charges have been dropped.
The Querdenken movement spread from its Stuttgart base to many other cities during the pandemic. Supporters demonstrated against measures to contain the coronavirus. Some of the protests were accompanied by violence directed at the police and journalists.
The movement is under observation by the domestic intelligence services for its anti-Semitic tendencies, anti-constitutional ideas and for its conspiracy theories.
