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Bavarian political scandal

September 1, 2014

A member of the Bavarian state cabinet, Christine Haderthauer, has resigned over fraud investigations related to a so-called "model car affair." The state's premier has accepted her resignation.

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Image: imago/HRSchulz

Christine Haderthauer, a member of the sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, announced her resignation on Monday night during a short press conference in Munich.

Haderthauer said that she was confident the charges would be dispelled. "Then as now, I am also convinced that I can completely clear up the legal allegations," she said.

Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer, and fellow CSU member, accepted her resignation "with respect," but said he regretted losing her as "a strong opinion and courageous member of the Cabinet." Haderthauer held the top position in Seehofer's own office, the state chancellery.

For weeks, Haderthauer and her husband, Hubert, have been embroiled in a scandal involving a company that makes automobile models, Sapor Modelltechnik. The company's products are manufactured by mentally ill criminals.

Haderthauer has been repeatedly subjected to accusations by the opposition and in the media that she mixed political offices and private interests in regards to the company, which she technically left in 2003.

French businessman and former co-owner of Sapor, Roger Ponton, has accused the couple of cheating him out of more than 10,000 euros in business dealings.

The Munich public prosecutor's office opened an official investigation against Haderthauer in early August, to pursue the allegations.

hc/kms (Reuters, dpa)