Police found the serial numbers of several gold bars in the Berlin home of a far-right politician suspected of having links to pro-Russian platforms, Die Welt newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) member of parliament Peter Bystron is currently being investigated on suspicion of money laundering and bribery.
Police also found cash in envelopes and bank statements from the Czech Republic and Liechtenstein, the newspaper reported.
Bystron is said to have confirmed the findings to the newspaper, however, Die Welt reported that most of the valuables belong to his mother.
The Dpa asked Bystron for a written statement on Monday night. However, this inquiry remained unanswered as of Tuesday morning.
Bystron is the second candidate on the party’s ticket for the June 9 European elections.
Bystron and another prominent AfD politician, Maximilian Krah, have come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks for alleged links to pro-Russian networks. A Czech newspaper reported that Bystron may have received money from the pro-Russian Internet platform “Voices of Europe” (VoE). Bystron denies this.
During a search of Bystron’s home, documents were discovered containing the serial numbers of the gold bars – one weighing 500 grams and the other weighing 1 kilogram – according to Die Welt.
“I keep the documents relating to my mother’s physical gold and accounts because I was appointed her guardian by the court,” Bystron told the newspaper.
“My mother owned a dental clinic in Switzerland for many years, acquired everything legally and I keep the evidence. This also includes old statements from the Liechtenstein account, although it has been closed for some time.”
Only the account in the Czech Republic, for which statements were also found, is attributed to Bystron himself: “The movements of my Czech account are also completely transparent, as they concern income and expenses from rental properties in the Czech Republic that belong to me and my wife for over 20 years,” he told Die Welt.
