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Berlin prosecutor’s office launches investigation into activity of Russian House

According to him, currently an investigation is underway as to whether the Russian House in Berlin violated the law on foreign trade

BERLIN, January 20. /TASS/. The Berlin prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the activity of the Russian House in the German capital, the DPA news agency reported on Friday, citing Sebastian Buchner, a representative of law enforcement.

According to him, currently an investigation is underway as to whether the Russian House in Berlin violated the law on foreign trade. He did not provide any other details. According to the news agency, it was triggered by the EU’s anti-Russian sanctions over the current events in Ukraine.

The Russian House in Berlin was opened in 1984 as a center of science and culture. A mission of Russia’s Federal Agency for CIS Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation in Germany is in charge of organizing its activities. According to the DPA, a complaint was filed by former member of the Bundestag for the Green Party Volker Beck. He thinks that the agency’s culture department being under EU sanctions should not engage in "propaganda." According to him, it is also necessary to check for possible omissions by German authorities with regards to observing the sanctions.

The Russian House in Berlin is the largest of the agency’s 96 missions abroad. The center’s activity is directed at developing cultural and humanitarian and scientific and educational ties between Russia and Germany, supporting Russians in Germany as well as popularizing Russian culture and language.

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