Die Prisoner aid organization Rote Hilfe has achieved a stage victory in the dispute over their account terminations. Sparkasse Göttingen must continue to operate its accounts for the time being. The Göttingen regional court decided this on Friday in an urgent procedure. However, there is no final clarification yet. The Sparkasse Göttingen wants to go into the main proceedings.
The case is about nothing less than the economic existence of Rote Hilfe, which has been supporting left-wing prisoners for more than 50 years. Shortly before Christmas, the Sparkasse terminated its business relationship with Rote Hilfe, which is based in Göttingen. The bank details should be closed on February 9th. The savings bank did not give any reasons. The social-ecological GLS Bank, where Rote Hilfe also maintains accounts, had resigned from the organization without giving reasons.
Unlike banks, however, savings banks cannot simply terminate due to their public law nature; they have a so-called contractual obligation, i.e. a legal obligation to conclude contracts. That’s why Rote Hilfe took action against the savings bank with an interim injunction.
According to Rote Hilfe, GLS Bank had made an inquiry about “Antifa-Ost” a few weeks before its termination, which was placed on the US sanctions list in November. Therefore, Rote Hilfe assumes that there is a connection between the account terminations and this listing. “Antifa-East” is a collective term and not an existing group.
Sparkasse fears Swift exclusion
GLS Bank does not want to comment on the case, citing banking secrecy. According to Red Aid, talks are still ongoing between the two sides, but the accounts should still be closed at the end of February.
Rote Hilfe has always covered legal costs in Antifa proceedings and created publicity for them. The organization has been classified and monitored as “left-wing extremist” by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution for decades. However, that can hardly be the reason for the sudden desire to end the business relationship with her now.
However, the fact that the termination is related to the US listing was confirmed, at least in the case of Sparkasse Göttingen. Their lawyer Justyna Niwinski-Wellkamp explained in court that there were a “bouquet of reasons” for the termination. One is the listing of Antifa-Ost on the US sanctions list. The Sparkasse fears exclusion from the Swift agreement.
Court does not share Sparkasse’s argument
This agreement regulates payment transactions between the EU and the USA; an exclusion would have an enormous impact on international business. In addition, the Sparkasse’s risk rating for Red Aid has increased, which leads to increased due diligence obligations under the Money Laundering Act, said the lawyer. The savings bank has to check each individual transaction to see whether the effort is too high.
The Sparkasse could definitely handle this by using AI, said Rote Hilfe lawyer Jasper Prigge. The organization is also willing to pay higher account management fees. But she couldn’t agree to a termination. “This is a threat to our existence,” said Prigge.
Without an account, Rote Hilfe would be economically unable to act. This would mean that it would no longer be able to collect the contributions of its 19,000 members, receive donations or provide legal aid. There is no threat of that now, at least in the short term. During the oral hearing, the court signaled that it had considerable doubts about the justification of the termination. Presiding judge Marc Eggert said he sees prospects of success for Rote Hilfe’s lawsuit. If the termination were to become effective, damage would occur that could no longer be compensated.
On the question of listing Antifa-Ost on the US sanctions list, the judge took a clear position: It cannot be the case that the classification by a third country in Germany could be used as a reason for termination. The savings bank only expressed “fears” about what could threaten it. It must also state the reasons why it made a higher risk classification, which would lead to increased effort in checking money laundering.
The court clearly rejected attempts by US authorities to influence German domestic politics, said Rote Hilfe lawyer Prigge. It made it clear that being mentioned on a US sanctions list should not have any indirect effects, he said. “This is an important decision.”
But the matter is not yet finished. “Sparkasse Göttingen respects court decisions and implements them,” said spokesman Hendrik Liebner. “At the same time, the main proceedings are being pursued.” The savings bank does not want to comment on details.