Merkel ally presses SPD's Scholz over money laundering probe

FILE PHOTO: German Finance Minister, Vice-Chancellor and the Social Democratic Party's main candidate Olaf Scholz speaks at the plenary hall of the lower house of Parliament, or Bundestag, during one of the last sessions before the federal elections in Berlin, Germany, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi

BERLIN (Reuters) - The general secretary of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives has pressed their rival Social Democrats' (SPD) chancellor candidate, Olaf Scholz, to explain himself over an investigation of his Finance Ministry by prosecutors.

German prosecutors raided the finance and justice ministries https://reut.rs/2X7miHL on Thursday as part of an investigation into the government's anti-money laundering agency, putting a spotlight on Germany's failings in tackling financial crime.