Steffen Krach (SPD) has served as Regional President of the Hanover Region since 2021 and, since May 2026, as chairman of the Berlin SPD and the party’s lead candidate for the 2026 Berlin state election.
Since September 2026, the Hanover public prosecutor’s office has been investigating him on suspicion of corruption (accepting an advantage) in connection with a hospital-site sale dating to his time as Regional President; a second strand of the inquiry concerns the alleged disclosure of confidential bidding information. Investigators searched his Berlin residence and SPD party offices in Hanover and Berlin in September 2026.
Krach denies any wrongdoing. He says he returned a disputed €9,900 donation to his party within 24 hours of learning about it, and has ruled out resigning as Berlin SPD chairman regardless of the election outcome. The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed. Since March 2026, his official duties in Hanover have been carried out by deputies.
According to Tagesspiegel reporting on 10 September 2026, Lower Saxony’s Justice Minister, Kathrin Wahlmann (SPD), was initially told only that the searches concerned an unnamed SPD candidate in an upcoming election, without being given Krach’s name; she learned his identity from a written report by Hanover prosecutors the following morning.
