On January 29, the Munich prosecutor's office levied corruption charges against two former MPs of the German parliament, known as the Bundestag, in connection with the "Azerbaijan scandal" within the Council of Europe. The individuals in question are Eduard Lintner from the Christian-Social Union and Axel Fischer from the Christian-Democratic Union. They are accused of extorting mandate holders, with Fischer facing additional corruption charges. Both MPs represented their countries in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Allegations suggest that the deputies violated the law while advocating for Azerbaijan's interests. Lintner was associated with the German-Azerbaijani forum, which advocated for official Baku in the Bundestag. The Munich prosecutor's office alleges that Lintner received millions of euros from Baku through several intermediaries, and his companies signed contracts with Azerbaijani state enterprises.

One aspect of the corruption scandal involves the late member of the Bundestag, Karin Strenz, who allegedly received $150,000 from Lintner to influence decisions in favor of Baku at the Council of Europe in 2015 and 2016.

On the other hand, Fischer is accused of pledging to act in Azerbaijan's interests, providing positive evaluations, sharing confidential documents, and voting in favor of Baku. He purportedly received at least 22,000 euros for these actions.

The investigation revealed that Lintner organized an observation mission to monitor Azerbaijan's presidential election in 2013, which provided a positive assessment despite reports of falsification by independent observers. Subsequently, Lintner received 61,000 euros from Azerbaijan. 

The investigation, spanning multiple locations, including the offices of Bundestag deputies, is ongoing.