German prosecutors have opened an investigation into an AfD lawmaker in Saxony on suspicion of helping to bypass EU sanctions by arranging the export of machinery to Belarus via a third country.
The Leipzig public prosecutor’s office and the Dresden customs investigation office are investigating Jörg Dornau, a member of the Saxon state parliament (Landtag) for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), on suspicion of violating Germany’s Foreign Trade and Payments Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz, AWG). The case centres on an export declared in August 2022, when a telescopic loader was allegedly registered for shipment to Kazakhstan but was in fact destined for Belarus.
According to the account carried by Die Welt, investigators believe the destination country was misstated in customs documentation in order to conceal a prohibition on exports to Belarus under EU restrictive measures. The same reporting said the vehicle was subsequently exported to Belarus. The prosecutor’s office described the suspected method as using a “transit state” to mask the true end destination.
Police action against Dornau took place at the Landtag after parliament lifted his immunity. Die Welt reported that his immunity was removed on the morning of the operation, and that enforcement measures were carried out in parallel, including searches of residential and business premises and vehicles. The operation was conducted by customs investigation officials.
German export control and sanctions enforcement cases are typically pursued under the AWG, which provides the domestic legal framework for implementing EU sanctions measures. Legal overviews of the German regime note that criminal penalties can apply for sanctions breaches under the AWG.
The alleged conduct relates to EU restrictions on exports to Belarus that were expanded after Minsk’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. EU summaries of the Belarus sanctions regime describe prohibitions on exporting dual-use goods and technology and other items that could contribute to Belarus’s military and technological enhancement, alongside wider trade and financial measures.
In the Landtag, AfD representatives characterised the investigation as politically motivated. Die Welt quoted the AfD parliamentary group leader in Saxony, Jörg Urban, as suggesting the proceedings were intended to damage an AfD deputy. Dornau himself has not publicly commented on the allegations, according to the same reporting.
The investigation adds to prior controversy surrounding Dornau’s business interests in Belarus. He is linked to an agricultural operation near Lida, in western Belarus, which has been described in media reports as an onion-growing enterprise. In 2024, Dornau faced public scrutiny over claims that Belarusian political detainees had been used as labour on the farm.
German prosecutors previously examined the detainee labour allegations. Die Welt reported that an earlier investigation into claims that political prisoners worked at his Belarus agribusiness was discontinued after prosecutors concluded there was no initial suspicion of a criminal offence prosecutable in Germany.
Separately, Dornau has faced sanctions within the Saxon parliament connected to disclosure requirements. Die Weltreported that in 2024 he was issued an administrative fine by the Landtag over late or incomplete notification of business connections in Belarus. Reporting by the Belarus-focused outlet Reform.news has also described a fine of around €20,000 in connection with the same issue.
The alleged sanctions circumvention method described by investigators reflects broader EU concerns about Belarus being used as a channel to bypass restrictions imposed on Russia and Russia-aligned networks. In June 2024 EU countries agreed additional measures on Belarus designed to close loopholes in enforcement and reduce the risk of restricted goods reaching Russia through Belarus.
For Saxony’s Landtag, the case has an immediate procedural dimension because immunity must be lifted for certain investigative steps to proceed against an elected member. In practice, such decisions are routinely sought by prosecutors to enable searches and evidence gathering, while the underlying allegations remain for the courts to assess.
No charges have been announced publicly, and investigators have not set out a timeline for concluding the inquiry. The prosecutor’s office has said the searches were intended to secure evidence relevant to the case, while Dornau’s party continues to dispute the investigation’s premises.
