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Saxony AfD MP Detained in Parliament as Prosecutors Probe Alleged Belarus Sanctions Evasion

Investigators accuse Jörg Dornau of concealing a 2022 telehandler export to Belarus by declaring Kazakhstan as the destination in violation of Germany’s foreign trade law.

Overview

  • - The Saxon state parliament lifted Dornau’s immunity on Wednesday, after which customs investigators detained and questioned him in the building and searched his home, business premises and vehicles, with officials saying no parliamentary rooms were searched.
  • - Leipzig prosecutors allege he listed Kazakhstan on an August 2022 customs filing to route a telehandler to Belarus despite EU restrictions, an offense under the Außenwirtschaftsgesetz that can carry a prison term.
  • - WELT reporting details a sale to Kazakh trader The Trust Service and a resale four days later to Dornau’s Belarus company Zybulka-Bel, suggesting a third‑country workaround of sanctions.
  • - Dornau previously received a €20,862 fine for failing to disclose his Belarus business interests, a sanction the Leipzig administrative court upheld in December 2025.
  • - AfD leaders questioned the timing as politically motivated, while the party said it would distance itself if the claims are proven; an earlier review of forced‑labour allegations found no offenses prosecutable in Germany.