The bank blocked the account of ex-Chancellor Schroeder due to fears of sanctions

It has been revealed that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder’s account at Sparkasse bank has been frozen due to money transfers from Russia.

According to a report by Bild daily, the bank took this step out of concern over potential secondary sanctions from the US. As a result, Schröder reportedly could not access approximately 500,000 euros.

Payments from Gazprom subsidiary halted

The report states that a significant portion of the payments to Schröder’s account came from Nord Stream 2 AG, a Switzerland-based subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, which operates the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

The company reportedly paid Schröder, who served as chairman of its supervisory board, approximately 200,000 euros every six months. However, Sparkasse began returning these payments to Luxembourg starting in mid-2024.

German bank officials cited concerns about potential secondary US sanctions as the reason for their decision.

It is noteworthy that the bank took this action despite former Chancellor Schröder not being on any sanctions list and US restrictions on Nord Stream 2 having been in effect since 2022.

Role of Hannover’s öayor

Another notable development was the appointment of Belit Onay, a member of the Green Party and Mayor of Hannover, as chairman of Sparkasse Hannover’s executive board in June 2024, just weeks before the account was frozen.

Onay was known to have previously criticized Schröder harshly for refusing to sever ties with Russia after the military intervention in Ukraine, and had called for Schröder’s honorary citizenship of Hannover to be revoked.

The 81-year-old former chancellor is publicly known for his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, after Putin initiated the war in Ukraine, Schröder described the situation as a “mistake.”

Schröder had traveled to Moscow with a “peace plan” that included conditions such as Ukraine abandoning NATO membership, ceding Crimea to Russia, and recognizing Russian as a second official language in the Donbas region, but this initiative was unsuccessful.

In May 2022, the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) stripped Schröder of his six-room office and six employees. He was only left with his pension and the right to personal protection.

The annual cost of the former chancellor’s staff to the state was reportedly up to 400,000 euros.

In March, some employees, including his long-time office manager and speechwriter, refused to work with Schröder due to his stance on Russia.

Schröder served as Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. After leaving office, he became chairman of the board of Russian energy company Rosneft and chairman of the shareholders’ committee of Nord Stream AG, the operator of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, he resigned from his position at Rosneft due due to sanctions concerns and declined an offer to join Gazprom’s management board.

According to The New York Times, Schröder’s income from Russian energy companies was estimated to be around 1 million US dollars per year.