A German couple who donated more than €5 million ($5.6 million) to the rebel populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) have denied speculation that the funds could have ties to Russia.
The anti-immigration BSW has shaken up German politics this year, becoming the driving force in coalition negotiations in two eastern states after winning more than 10% of the vote in elections this month.
The party, founded in January by Sahra Wagenknecht, an icon of Germany’s far-left, has achieved success with a mix of anti-immigration stances, left-wing economic policies and opposition to support for Ukraine against Russia. There have been accusations that the party is a mouthpiece for Moscow.
BSW donor Lotte Salingré called the speculation “nonsense” on Wednesday.
Salingré and her husband Thomas Stanger, a majority shareholder in a company specializing in stage lighting for major concerts, “earned the money,” she told the news website t-online.
Stanger reportedly left the company in 2000, but he still makes millions from his stake in the company.
“We built this company in a garage,” Stanger said. “And we had good instincts, apparently.”
The couple donated €5.1 million to the BSW in two installments this year, reportedly the largest private donations to a German party in the past 20 years.
The payments caused a stir after they were made public in accordance with German regulations governing the disclosure of donations of more than €50,000 to political parties.
