Otto Graf Lambsdorff before the Flick Investigatory Committee (February 2, 1984)

The Bundestag's Flick Investigatory Committee (1983-85) looked into corruption charges leveled against federal politicians. In 1975, the Flick Company had applied for a tax exemption for a large share transaction. The exemption was granted by the Federal Ministry of Economics, then headed by FDP member Hans Friderichs, shortly after the company had made a donation to the FDP. Therefore, in February 1982, the Office of the Public Prosecutor initiated preliminary proceedings against Flick manager Eberhard von Brauchitsch, Hans Friderichs, and his successor in office, Otto Graf Lambsdorff. During the course of the Flick Affair, it came to light that the CDU/CSU, the FDP, and the SPD had all received illegal donations from Flick, and these revelations seriously undermined public trust in federal politics. In May 1984, the conservative-liberal government coalition tried to find a legal way to grant retroactive amnesty to both the donor and the recipients, but the attempt failed in the face of public outrage. Lambsdorff resigned as Minster of Economic on June 26, 1984. In February 1987, he was convicted of tax evasion along with Brauchitsch and Friderichs. This picture shows Lambsdorff being questioned by the Investigatory Committee on February 2, 1984.

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