BERLIN The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has called on its former treasurer Walter Leilser Kiep to pay it a million euros (850,000 dollars) in damages for his role in a scandal over illegal campaign donations, AFP quoted a party spokesman as saying Wednesday.

The spokesman was confirming a report in the ****Berliner Zeitung**** newspaper.

Kiep admitted in November 1999 to criminal investigators that he had been present in Switzerland in 1991 when arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber handed over a contribution of a million marks (500,000 euros, 425,000 dollars) to CDU accountant Horst Weyrauche.

This revelation brought the scandal to light. The government has so far fined the CDU two million marks for violating a law which states that political contributions over 10,000 marks must be made public.