The now well-known large donation by financial investor Lars Windhorst to the CDU may have a history. In the summer, at the invitation of the Federal CDU, an illustrious group of entrepreneurs met in a Berlin club – including Lars Windhorst and department store king René Benko, who met Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet here.
Thomas Steinmann and Caspar Tobias Schlenk
If you are looking for a touch of old West Berlin in the capital, the Pan Am Lounge is the right address. The exclusive location is in a penthouse near Kurfürstendamm, in the heart of today’s City-West. After its inauguration in 1966, the lounge was initially used by the crews of the US airline Pan American Airways, who were looking for relaxation and entertainment during their stopovers. Later it became a hotspot for dignified parties in the west of Berlin.
To this day, the luxury lounge not only bears the logo of the legendary, long-gone bankrupt US airline. According to the company website for “First Class Meetings and Events”, those who visit the location will be greeted by “warm stewardesses”. In the lounge, the “cabin crew” mixes an “original Pan-Am cocktail”, which guests can also enjoy on a terrace with a view of the Berlin skyline or on a dance floor. Small rooms offer retreats for discreet conversations.
It was in this atmosphere that they met at the beginning of July 2021 after research by the stern a prominent group. Among others, the Austrian real estate investor and department store king René Benko, whose Signa group also belongs to the department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, and the financial investor Lars Windhorst – as a teenager, once a model entrepreneur of Helmut Kohl, now a juggler with billions of dollars. Verena Pausder, one of the most prominent founders in the Berlin start-up scene and several other entrepreneurs and managers also appeared.
Armin Laschet was also present at the meeting in the Pan Am Lounge
The federal CDU had invited people to the dinner in a smaller group, and according to participants, the contact person was a close employee of the party’s federal treasurer. But the Christian Democrats were represented even more high-profile that evening – with a politician who is currently fighting to become Federal Chancellor: Armin Laschet. The CDU leader gave a short speech and outlined his ideas for the future federal government. Later the guests exchanged ideas in a smaller circle. What exactly the meeting was about and what the background was is not entirely clear. The party headquarters of the CDU left several inquiries about the appointment unanswered.
At least one thing is known: A few weeks after the meeting in the Pan Am Lounge, a party donation of 250,000 euros flowed to the federal CDU – from a company behind which, according to research by “Spiegel”, financial investor Windhorst is the beneficial owner. According to a report to the Bundestag administration, the donation was received by the Christian Democrats on September 17th. The party reported them to the Bundestag on September 20 – according to the Political Parties Act, large donations over 50,000 euros must be reported “immediately” to the Bundestag President. On the same day, the capital office of the stern Windhorst’s spokesman sent questions about the dinner and possible party donations – which, however, have so far remained unanswered. At the same time as the donation to the CDU, the Windhorst company also transferred 250,000 euros to the FDP.
In the case of Windhorst, who suffered shipwreck with some investments after his rapid rise as a young entrepreneur and most recently made headlines as a major investor in the Bundesliga soccer club Hertha BSC, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office is investigating suspected illegal banking transactions. The starting point of the proceedings was a criminal complaint from the financial supervisory authority Bafin. Windhorst rejected all allegations in July via Twitter: They have been cooperating with all authorities since May and are “amazed and disappointed” that the Bafin had nevertheless filed a complaint. One is sure that there is no basis for the allegations. The investigation became known to the public through a report in the Financial Times on July 5, one day after the meeting with Laschet.
When asked about the date, neither the federal CDU nor Windhort’s spokesman and start-up founder Pausder responded. Laschet’s State Chancellery referred to the CDU party headquarters, as it was an appointment by the party and not by the NRW state government. A representative from Benko’s Signa group said that there was “regular constructive dialogue with political decision-makers – across all party lines”. The rule is “that we generally do not donate to political parties”.
The department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof also belongs to the real estate and retail group Signa, which had to be supported with a government loan of 460 million euros at the beginning of the year during the corona crisis. Most recently, the company negotiated further aid with the federal government. Laschet and Benko have known each other for a long time; in summer 2020, for example, both spoke personally about maintaining Galeria-Karstadt-Kaufhof branches in North Rhine-Westphalia. During this time, dozens of locations across Germany were available at Benko’s department store chain due to the corona pandemic.
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