Several refugee aid associations fear that members of the parliamentary committee of inquiry into funding practices at the Ministry of Social Affairs will pass on personal data. In a statement, the victims' organization RAA Sachsen, the Saxon Refugee Council and the Kulturbüro Sachsen announced that the committee had received extensive documents on funding procedures containing data on more than 1,000 people. They feared that these people were in concrete danger, as data "could reach right-wing networks via the AfD". The AfD rejected this.
AfD rejects speculations
The AfD parliamentary group in the state parliament rejected fears. "In this investigation, the protection of personal data is of course guaranteed at all times," parliamentary group spokesperson Felix Menzel told the German Press Agency: "The committee of inquiry into the SPD funding swamp is urgently needed to completely clear up the unlawful allocation of taxpayers' money to the Saxon asylum industry."
Social Affairs Minister Petra Köpping (SPD) had unfortunately not succeeded in creating complete transparency and providing detailed information about the influence exerted by the top management of her ministry.
Court of Auditors had reprimanded funding practices
The investigative committee was set up in February at the instigation of the AfD parliamentary group in the state parliament. The committee is looking into the allocation of funding to refugee aid associations and initiatives in the years 2016 to 2019. The State Court of Auditors of the Free State of Bavaria had already attested to unlawful administrative action to an "extraordinary extent" when presenting a special report in 2023. Among other things, it saw "conflicts of interest" and "concerns of bias". The auditors did not find any evidence of personal misconduct on Köpping's part.
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