Horst Seehofer has proposed reforms to the asylum process amid allegations of corruption at the country’s refugee agency. A new probe into the scandal could see the backlog of asylum applications increase.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on Tuesday apologized on behalf of the government for a scandal engulfing the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) during a closed-doors parliamentary committee hearing that lasted five hours.
Seehofer told the committee that he wanted to reform how asylum requests are processed in Germany. He has previously proposed so-called anchor centers where asylum seekers could be placed while authorities process their requests.
Prosecutors are investigating claims bribes may have been accepted to waive through asylum requests en masse.