German official, lawyers probed in bribes-for-asylum case

BERLIN – German authorities are investigating an official and three lawyers on suspicion of corruption in the granting of asylum to people who weren’t eligible.

Prosecutors in the northern city of Bremen say at least 1,200 asylum requests, mostly by members of Syria’s Yazidi minority, may have been wrongly approved.

The official under investigation is the former head of the Bremen branch office of Germany’s Federal Office for Migration, which handles asylum decisions.

Annegret Korff, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry that oversees the migrant office, said Friday that the official has been suspended but declined to comment further citing the ongoing investigation.