The German journalists’ association Netzwerk Recherche has expelled Hubert Seipel from its membership after the biographer of the Russian president Vladimir Putin turned out to have accepted money from Russian sources.
“Hubert Seipel’s behavior violated the fundamental rules of independent journalism and seriously damaged the credibility of our profession,” said chairman Daniel Drepper.
Seipel was unanimously expelled from the group during a members meeting on Friday, the group announced on Saturday.
In November, reports emerged that Seipel, an award-winning TV journalist and author, had received €600,000 ($650,000) from Russian entrepreneur Alexei Mordashev.
The money is said to have been intended to support Seipel’s projects, but Mordashev is widely regarded as a Russian oligarch and was added to the European Union’s sanctions list of Russian targets in February 2022.
“The payments Hubert Seipel admitted to are in violation of all rules of journalistic honesty and professionalism. With his actions, he has seriously damaged investigative journalism and the reputation of our profession in the public eye,” the group said.
After the allegations came to light, Hamburg publisher Hoffmann und Campe stopped selling Seipel’s books about Putin in November. Two of his nonfiction books about the Russian president had been published in recent years.
According to Seipel, the board of Netzwerk Recherche asked him to comment on the allegations and advised him to leave the association immediately.
