North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is the state to the far NW of Germany....chiefly run at this point by the CDU.
So the scandal brewing? Employees at the Bielefeld Foreigner/Migration Office are suggested in some way of taking bribes.
Highest bribe amount so far in the news.....4,000 Euro.
According to investigations by the Bielefeld Public Prosecutor's Office (yeah, it's gotten pretty deep)....tips led to raids in November and December 2025, with employees being suspected of issuing unauthorized Niederlassungserlaubnisse (permanent residence titles) in at least 15 cases between September 2023 and April 2025.
If you read through all the material....there's 4 individuals under investigation on charges including bribery, acceptance of bribes, granting advantages, and acceptance of advantages. Two are city employees, one is a translator involved in immigration matters, and the fourth is a migrant who initially received a residence permit and then allegedly assisted in the scheme.
What'll happen? Court-case will follow in the next couple of months....with deal-making (I think) probably unlikely to happen. The prosecution folks have a pretty iron-clad case. Just the way things are described....the migrant and translator will get lesser charges, with the two city-employees likely to get time in jail.
This hurting CDU political positions? Yeah, it could....but as long as no deals are made, and full prosecution occurs....the public might be satisficed.
And yes, it is front-page news in NRW.
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