APW19980626.0364
NEWS STORY
06/26/1998 07:07:00
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BC-Germany-Rightists Fined
German far-right party fined for violating donor laws
BONN, Germany (AP) _ A phony address listed on disclosure forms
for a French donor will cost the far-right German People's Union
about 549,000 marks (dlrs 305,000), parliament said Friday.
Parliamentary president Rita Suessmuth said the People's Union
correctly listed Jacques de Mathan as having donated about 274,500
marks in 1995, but gave a false address for him.
German law requires parties to publish the name and address of
anyone who donates more than 20,000 marks (dlrs 11,000).
The anti-foreigner party said it wanted to protect the donor
from possible attacks.
Suessmuth said , however, that the law does not allow for
providing a false address for any reason. The fine is twice the
donation, as provided for under German party financing laws.
Party spokesman Bernd Droese said the People's Union would challenge the fine in court.
The extremist party recently took a surprising 13 percent of the
vote in elections in a depressed eastern German state, and hopes to win its first seats in the federal parliament this September.
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AP-NY-06-26-98 0707EDT