The local Alternative for Germany (AfD) chapter’s accounts were closed by two cooperative banks in the East Westphalia region of Germany. The AfD district association in Minden-Lübbecke called the decision “politically motivated” in a statement.
Citing “banking secrecy laws,” the Verbund Volksbank OWL and Volksbank in Ostwestfalen acknowledged the news to regional German media on Tuesday. However, they declined to give particular context for the incidents. Volksbanken are owned by their members, not by outside investors, and are a part of Germany’s Genossenschaftsbanken cooperative banking network.
A bank account is necessary for private persons, businesses, political organizations, and factions. This account is used to execute regular payments, including personnel salaries, according to a statement from the AfD district office. Sebastian Landwehr, the head of the AfD Minden-Lübbecke district, denounced the Volksbank’s move to attack “Germany’s biggest opposition party.”
Since there is no wrongdoing on the part of the AfD area organization and the confidence of the district association has not changed, only one option remains: This is so-called ‘debanking’, ie, a politically motivated account termination, he stated.
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