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German politician could become "absolutely controlled" MP in Bundestag, according to Russian documents reviewed by BBC Newsnight.
The politician Markus Frohnmaier is a member of the German parliament belonging to the far-right party AfD.
The documents date back to April 2017, when Mr Frohnmaier was a candidate for the Bundestag election. He was then elected in September 2017.
Mr Frohnmaier told the BBC that he was not aware of the documents.
AfD (Alternative for Germany) is now the main opposition party in the German Parliament.
Joint investigation
Mr Frohnmaier frequently spoke out against EU sanctions on Russia and made visits to Crimea, Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia in 2014, as well as in parts of the country. is from Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
The documents were obtained by the Dossier Center, an organization that aims to investigate the Kremlin's attempts to influence politicians abroad.
The Case Center is funded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former Russian oligarch, who opposed President Vladimir Putin, who spent nearly 10 years in prison in Russia.
The BBC conducted a joint investigation of these documents in conjunction with the German magazine Der Spiegel, the German TV channel ZDF and the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
The documents give an overview of so-called "active measures" – Russian attempts to influence Western politics.
The main document, written in Russian, appears to be a strategy document detailing general attempts to influence public opinion and EU decision-makers on topics such as Crimea, the Russian Federation and the EU. Ukraine and EU sanctions against Russia.
But in the end, there is something more specific.
Under the heading "elections to the Bundestag", the document quotes a candidate: Markus Frohnmaier.
It continues:
- "Chances of being elected to the Bundestag: high."
- "Mandatory: support during the election campaign."
Follows an badessment of the potential value of Mr Frohnmaier for Moscow when he is elected to the German Parliament:
- "Result: we will have our own Bundestag MP under absolute control."
The document was attached to an e-mail, also seen by the BBC.
The email was sent by Petr Premyak, a former Naval Counterintelligence Officer and former member of the Upper House of the Russian Parliament.
Mr. Premyak confirmed to a ZDF reporter that he had written the email, but stated that he was not the author of the attached strategy document.
The recipient was Sergei Sokolov, senior official of President Putin's administration.
It is unclear whether the Kremlin has followed up on the recommendations in the document and there is no indication that Russia has provided "material support" for Mr Frohnmaier's campaign.
Separately, the BBC has obtained another document, also from April 2017, which appears to be a request for written help on behalf of Mr Frohnmaier's campaign.
This document is written in sometimes flawed English and is entitled: "Electoral Campaign / Frohnmaier Action Plan (Project)".
"For the election campaign, we would need urgent support," the letter says.
"In addition to material support, we would also need the support of the media […] any kind of interviews, reports and opportunities to appear in the Russian media is useful to us. "
During the campaign, Frohnmaier promised to focus on topics such as "Good relations with the Russian Federation: sanctions, EU interference in Russia's domestic politics".
And if he was elected, Mr Frohmaier "would immediately start acting in the field of foreign policy".
& # 39; False document & # 39;
Mr Frohnmaier told the BBC that he had no knowledge of the Russian document obtained by the Center's file, nor of any document apparently drafted in the name of his campaign.
"I think it's a fake document," he said.
Asked about whether he could explain how the authors of the Russian document came to the conclusion that he would be a "deputy under absolute control," said Frohnmaier, in a statement of his lawyers: "Our client points out a third party.
"Our client has not requested or received financial support […] directly or through third parties. "
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