And every day a new piece of news from Germany greets people who have not fallen on their heads, well, if you read behind the lines. Apparently the Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser (SPD), is planning to monitor bank transfers. Read this article to find out what she is aiming to achieve and why monitoring all bank transfers is essential to Faeser's plan.
Background
Since the media emergence of the Demonstrations by farmers against the Measures of the traffic light government (WebArchive / Archive link), attempts were quickly made to delegitimize them, only imperial flags were sighted there (WebArchive / Archive link), then Video contributions edited in this waythat the viewer would think that they wanted to attack Federal Minister of Economics Habeck, and ultimately the Television Council delegates a Greenwhich was to reduce the airtime of the farmers' protests to a minimum and now the demonstration "We against the right" should pay more attention. It's wonderful how quickly problems can be diverted by the media.
Now, in the last few days Demonstrations by left-wing radicals (WebArchive / Archive link), demonstrations against the right, even if my internet research shows otherwise, it used to seem to me that people were demonstrating against right-wing extremism rather than against right-wing/conservative views per se, but the search results up to 2015 show other things. Today it looks like, according to "We against the right", you are only part of the "we" if you are not on the right. This means that anyone who is not on the left is not part of this "we". So the derivation is understandable, isn't it?
To further distract attention, a meeting of AFD and CDU members in a hotel was monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, why? Well, there is no clear statement or reliable evidence, but it is said to be about plans to overthrow the government, but there are no charges or criminal offenses that would justify the surveillance of citizens or, in this case, the political opposition. However, it is worrying when two parties, the AFD and CDU, which can be democratically elected by the citizens of Germany, have their meetings monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and even have rooms bugged.
Transfers are to be monitored
And now we come to the point that has already become apparent in recent times, when Faeser restricts cash (WebArchive / Archive link), you can only pay with a maximum of €10,000 in cash. There should now be a Monitoring of transfers from right-wing networks (WebArchive / Archive link) and who donates money to the AFD.
At least that is the media tenor.
That actually sounds okay, doesn't it? Drying up right-wing extremist networks can't be wrong, can it? Can't it?
Well, what sounds good on the surface becomes more dramatic the deeper you look at it. So if you're already feeling unwell, then you shouldn't break it down any further, alternatively, grab a cup of tea and sit down, you really need it.
Right-wing or far-right networks?
Let's start with the first point, which on the surface will not make a difference to some, but is a difference. So there is a difference between right-wing networks and far-right networks, and where is the mention and distinction between left-wing and far-left networks? Where is the line drawn here and why do the media only talk about right-wing networks? This implies that everything that is seen as right-wing by the SPD-led Ministry of the Interior is counted as a suspected case.
Political donations unsafe?
How reported (WebArchive / Archive link), the aim is to monitor transfers that go to the AFD party, for example, i.e. transfers from private individuals or companies that want to finance this party with donations. In this way, the AFD is to be virtually dried up, i.e. cut off from donations through the fear of surveillance. At least that's what I read from the article.
The problem with this is manifold, so let's break it down further:
Constitutional protection, neutral and independent?
In 2023, the BZ-Berliner Zeitung published Gunnar Schupelius' column in which he scrutinizes the situation, whether constitutional protection is still neutral (Article worth reading).
The media always write that the AFD is a confirmed right-wing extremist party, I personally refrain from expressing my own opinion here, but I would like to refer back to the history of this development. Because the AFD used to be "only" a right-wing party, nothing more. Here it is important to Curriculum vitae of Thomas Haldenwang (WebArchive), who is President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution:
- Haldenwang has worked for the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution since 2009
- August 1, 2013, Haldenwang becomes Vice President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
- November 15, 2018, Haldenwang becomes President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Thomas Haldenwang, who is a member of the CDU, has directly announced his appointment as President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution one month after he was appointed. declared war on right-wing extremism (December 21, 2018) (WebArchive / Archive link). Radicals such as the climate glues from the generation he does not classify as extremist although their activists Railroad tracks of the lignite-fired power plant in Jänschwalde blocked (WebArchive / Archive link) and oil pipelines closed via emergency valves, at least the Police carry out raids:
Lina (19) stopped the flow of oil from Russia at this pipeline ❌
She calls on Habeck to #Declaration of life: Speak out publicly - no new fossil fuel infrastructure!
"The young generation, to which I belong, has no future otherwise!" 1/4 pic.twitter.com/7yG4PtbxZD
- Last Generation (@RisingLastGen) April 27, 2022
Here is the archive link to the Twitter postif this should be deleted. Lina Eichler blocks the Družba oil pipelinewhich supplied crude oil from Russia to Germany. The pipeline was closed by an emergency valve. Here it goes to the video.
On June 20, 2023, Thomas Haldenwang said the following sentence on ZDF's "Heute-journal" "Not alone the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is responsible for lowering the AfD's poll ratings", what you read from itis up to you.
So you can recognize certain patterns, that certain things are prosecuted more strictly and other things less strictly, although even the latter are more dangerous.
Banking secrecy?
Another point is that banks in Germany still maintain banking secrecy:
If transfers are made by private citizens to right-wing networks, how can this be checked if banking secrecy exists? Because in order to monitor transfers, banking secrecy must be lifted. Then you can monitor who donates to right-wing networks or where money goes.
The bank as a helper?
Banking secrecy therefore prevents transfers and accounts from being viewed by the state, but the state or law enforcement authorities can still gain access. One such case, for example, would be that credit institutions are obliged under §43 of the Money Laundering Act to provide information on suspected report criminal financial transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit without delay.
But money laundering does not take place just because you donate money or make a bank transfer, so no bank can simply pass on financial transactions if there is no reasonable suspicion. I can't imagine whether there is a list of accounts that the banks have and that transactions to them are logged. And even if this were the case, transfers have to be logged anyway, there's no other way to do it digitally, so the banks wouldn't be allowed to pass this information on.
The citizen under general suspicion
This leads me to the following conclusion:
- It is not possible to say which account can be assigned to an extremist organization (left or right) if there are private individuals behind it and the account is not public on a website and therefore it is not possible to say which transactions/transfers are made to these accounts.
- Banks are bound by banking secrecy not to share account information with third parties unless they are explicitly requested by law enforcement authorities, in which case the police also need a court order or the request must come directly from the public prosecutor's office.
- The tax office can carry out an account inquiry, but only if certain conditions are met are, but it can no dragnet searches are carried out.
If transfers now have to be checked to see who donates to right-wing extremist networks or makes transfers to right-wing parties, this is only legally permissible if these persons provide false information under tax law or if the public prosecutor's office demands information on the account status of criminals as a result of a criminal offense.
Consequently, the only option is to abolish banking secrecy so that Federal Minister of the Interior Faeser's plan to be able to trace who is transferring money to where is possible.
This puts every citizen in Germany under general suspicionoops, we already had that, in 2010 (14 years before this post was published) this video came out:
When is the cash ban coming?
Fittingly, the European Union is also bothered by cash, so the Cash ceiling of €10,000 introducedYou can only pay with €10,000 in cash without having to identify yourself (there are contradictory statements on the Internet), well, you would have to search for a long time until you find someone who wants to pay €10,000 in cash. But exactly this argument is dangerous, you can then even at 5000€ (was under discussion in 2016) or at 1000€ (2012 France) or introduce a cash limit of €500 so that you can no longer pay with cash. The next step is now also coming, because cash payments over 3000€, buyers must provide information for tracking purposes.
Here is a List of countries with facts and figures on cash limits (WebArchive / Archive Link)
Faeser wants private donations to the AfD to be monitored by the secret service
So in your opinion, Haldenwang, a CDU member, is independent? And best of all: neutral?
👉🏻 That was a good one! 😂Haldenwang quote: "The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is not solely responsible for lowering the AfD's poll ratings"
👉🏻 Any questions? 😉🤡- Michael (@MichaelGobes) December 29, 2023
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