Hannover prosecutors search Steffen Krach's premises in bribery probe before Berlin election
Hannover prosecutors searched three properties linked to Berlin SPD mayoral candidate Steffen Krach on Wednesday over suspected bribery involving a hospital land sale in Lower Saxony.
Raids across Berlin and Hannover
Investigators from the Hannover public prosecutor's office searched three properties linked to Berlin SPD lead candidate Steffen Krach on Wednesday. The searches covered Krach's private apartment in Berlin-Schöneberg, the Berlin SPD headquarters in Berlin-Wedding, and Krach's administrative office in Hannover. A spokesperson for the Hannover prosecution confirmed the raids and the proceedings against the politician, but declined to release further procedural details, citing tactical investigative reasons. Krach has taken unpaid leave from his elected post as president of Region Hannover to lead the SPD campaign in the federal capital.
Property sale and bribery allegations
The investigation centres on suspected bribery tied to the sale of a 30,000-square-metre site previously belonging to a municipal hospital in Lehrte, east of Hannover. The Lehrte facility had formed part of the regional municipal clinic network overseen by the Region Hannover administration. According to security sources cited by Der Tagesspiegel, Krach is suspected of having accepted a donation from a healthcare operator in exchange for supporting their bid for the Lehrte parcel. The property was awarded to a regional corporate group that prevailed over a rival company from nearby Burgdorf. In May 2026, prosecutors searched the offices and residence of the winning bidder's managing director during an inquiry into anti-competitive bid rigging, following formal appeals and legal challenges filed by the defeated Burgdorf competitor.
- Krach serves as Berlin State Secretary for Science.
- Krach is elected Regional President of Region Hannover.
- Prosecutors search premises of the winning bidder in the Lehrte hospital land sale.
- Investigators search three properties linked to Krach across Berlin and Hannover.
- Lower Saxony holds municipal elections to elect a new regional president.
- Berlin holds its state parliamentary election for the Abgeordnetenhaus.
Reactions from Krach and the SPD
Krach told Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg on Wednesday morning that he had just learned of the probe and rejected the accusations as groundless.
I have nothing to hide. I want absolute transparency and I am completely relaxed about this.
The Berlin branch of the Social Democrats also pushed back against the proceedings through an official spokesperson.
As the Berlin SPD and on behalf of our state chair and lead candidate Steffen Krach, we reject these insinuations in the strongest terms. We will of course cooperate fully with the authorities to clear up these groundless insinuations.
Electoral pressure before Berlin vote
The searches occurred 11 days before the Berlin state parliamentary election on 20 September 2026, where Krach is campaigning for the office of Governing Mayor. Krach co-chairs the Berlin SPD alongside Bettina König after returning to Berlin politics in the summer of 2025. Between 2014 and 2021, Krach served as Berlin's State Secretary for Science before winning election as regional president in Hannover in 2021. The inquiry arrives during a difficult campaign for the Berlin SPD, which currently governs the city in a coalition led by the Christian Democratic Union. A recent Infratest dimap survey placed the SPD at 11% in fifth place behind the CDU, The Left, the Greens, and the AfD. Lower Saxony will hold municipal elections on 13 September 2026 to choose Krach's successor in Hannover.
