A German member of parliament says his account with Deutsche Bank-owned Postbank has been closed for political reasons, claiming his being a politician from the right has made him a target for debanking.

Alternative for Germany (AfD) member of the Bundestag and party co-chairman Tino Chrupalla claims to have been debanked, telling national television: “On Friday my account was cancelled by Postbank because I am an AfD member”. This is part of a process of excluding and discrediting people outside the political mainstream, he claimed.

Postbank is owned by Deutsche Bank, one of the largest global banks. The AfD is a right-wing populist political party that campaigns on issues like mass migration, the European Union, and failures of the legacy political establishment. Critics say the party is racist and should be banned as unconstitutional.

German broadsheet newspaper Die Welt reports the comments of a Postbank spokesman, who stood behind client confidentiality to avoid discussing the case, but stated nevertheless they had the right to cancel any account they wanted to without having to give a reason.