Hannover prosecutors seek to lift immunity of Berlin SPD leader Steffen Krach

The immunity request

The Hannover prosecutor's office has asked the Berlin House of Representatives to lift the parliamentary immunity of Steffen Krach, who leads the SPD caucus in the Berlin parliament and is a former president of the Hannover Region. Spokesman Oliver Eisenhauer confirmed the request to NDR Niedersachsen on Friday, 13 November. The application reached the Berlin Senate Department for Justice and Consumer Protection on Wednesday, 11 November. Parliament has not yet decided when or how it will deal with the request. Until a decision is made, Krach keeps his immunity as an elected member, so the investigation against him remains on hold.

What investigators allege

Prosecutors suspect Krach of betraying trade secrets and breaching a duty of confidentiality, and in two cases of accepting benefits (Vorteilsannahme), according to rbb. The probe centers on the sale of a former hospital site in Lehrte in the Hannover region. Confidential information about a competing offer was allegedly passed on to one bidder. Krach was president of the Hannover Region at the time and chaired the supervisory board of Klinikum Region Hannover by virtue of that office. He rejects the allegations, and the presumption of innocence applies to him. Before the request was filed, he had said he would cooperate with the authorities and would not oppose lifting his immunity.

Why the case is paused

Investigations against Krach have been on hold since the constituent session of the Berlin House of Representatives on 29 October. The House has generally approved investigations against its members in advance, and the parliament president must be informed before such proceedings begin. The case, however, was already under way before Krach took his seat, so prosecutors consider a separate lifting of immunity necessary, according to Eisenhauer. The Hannover office says the lifting is needed to continue the proceedings against him, which is why the request went to the Berlin Senate rather than being handled as a routine matter.

Other SPD figures under investigation

The inquiry also covers Stefan Politze, who has resigned as chair of the SPD parliamentary group in the Lower Saxony state parliament, and Adis Ahmetović. Ahmetović's role is given as Hannover SPD chief in one report and as a Bundestag member in another. Both men are accused of passing confidential information to a bidder during an ongoing sales process. Politze and Ahmetović reject the accusations. Prosecutors are also still investigating a businessman, whose name the reports do not give.

What comes next

Parliament has not set a date for dealing with the request, and the reports do not say how long a decision will take. Prosecutors have stressed that the presumption of innocence applies to every person under investigation. Until the immunity question is settled, the proceedings against Krach cannot move forward, while the separate investigations into the other accused continue.