Der Spiegel reporter accused of making up stories ‘appealed for donations for Syria that went straight into his bank account’

Magazine says it is not clear how many people donated or what happened to money

A man looks into the latest issue of German newsweekly Der Spiegel with a cover page that reads: 'To say, what is', a quote referring to the credo of Rudolf Augstein, founder of the magazine, in an issue devoted to a scandal surrounding Claas Relotius (Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images)

A German journalist who was found to have fabricated and invented facts in many of his articles in recent years could now be charged over allegedly soliciting donations for Syrian orphans from his readers that went straight into his bank account.

The German magazine Der Spiegel said its award-winning former reporter, Claas Relotius, had asked readers by email from his private account for donations to be transferred to him directly.

Der Spiegel said it was not clear how many people donated money, how much Mr Relotius collected or what happened to the money.

But the magazine said it would press charges and work with prosecutors to find out the details.

On Wednesday Der Spiegel revealed Mr Relotius, 33, had fabricated interviews and facts in at least 14 articles. It has since fired him.

The paper said Mr Relotius’ senior editors confronted him after a fellow journalist at the magazine voiced suspicions. Mr Relotius then admitted he had fabricated content in a number of articles he had written, it said.

The fraud, which the magazine described as “a low point” in its 70-year history, was widely condemned in Germany but also drew criticism in the United States, where Mr Relotius claimed to have reported many of his articles.

“Claas Relotius acted with intent, methodically and with a high level of criminal energy,” Der Spiegel said, adding that he had written about and cited people he had never met or spoken to.

Mr Relotius told his editors “it was not about having the next big thing. It was fear of failing”.

“The pressure not to fail became bigger the more successful I became,” he said, according to Der Spiegel.

Mr Relotius most recently won an award in early December, for a story about a child in war-torn Syria. The German reporters’ association, which handed out the award, said it was “aghast” and “angry” about the news.