Germany offers €1 million reward for leads on Berlin power grid sabotage

German authorities have announced a €1 million ($1.1 million) reward for information that leads to the capture of the perpetrators behind a sabotage attack on Berlin’s power grid earlier this month. Iris Spranger, Berlin’s Senator for Interior Affairs, confirmed the federal prosecutor’s exceptional bounty on Monday during a session of the city-state’s Interior Committee, describing the sum as unprecedented in similar cases.

Attack Treated as a Terrorist Act

Spranger characterized the January 3 attack as a “terrorist act” and stated the high reward is intended to generate decisive leads for solving the case. The sabotage, claimed by the far-left extremist “Volkan Group,” targeted high-voltage cables in southwest Berlin, triggering one of the city’s longest power outages since World War II. Approximately 100,000 residents were affected, with around 50,000 households left without electricity and heating for several days.

Investigation and Recovery

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has launched a terrorism investigation into the incident. Stromnetz Berlin, the city’s grid operator, managed to fully restore power only on the fifth day following the attack. The reward underscores the severity with which German authorities are treating the incident, which exposed critical infrastructure vulnerabilities.