“He really applied pressure”: New details in the Steffen Krach clinic investigation

As head of the Hanover region and chair of municipal hospital group KRH, Krach openly preferred one bidder, G&W, in the sale of an old clinic site in Lehrte. Several supervisory-board members told Tagesspiegel his lobbying was unusually forceful; one said he “really applied pressure,” although another member said they did not feel pressured. The board ultimately overwhelmingly chose the competing bid.

The suspicious part came shortly beforehand: G&W unexpectedly submitted a higher offer. Board members became concerned that it somehow knew the competing bid. KRH filed a criminal complaint, and prosecutors are investigating possible anti-competitive coordination and disclosure of confidential commercial information. Separately, another company owned by the same businessman donated €9,900 to Berlin’s SPD two weeks after the tender deadline; the party returned it on Krach’s instruction.

There is currently no evidence establishing that Krach himself leaked the bid. He denies direct contact with either bidder and says he discussed the project with politicians but cannot know what they subsequently communicated.

The investigation is now about a specific potential information leak benefiting Krach’s preferred bidder, rather than merely an awkward political donation.