German parliamentarians on a fact-finding mission on shady contributions to political parties opened talks here Monday with German-Canadian arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber, a key figure in a political donations scandal involving the German Christian Democrat Party.

The seven parliamentarians would not comment on the talks at the residence of the German consul here that are due to continue Tuesday.

Schreiber was detained in Toronto in August 1999 after Germany issued a warrant for his arrest for corruption, bribery, breach of trust and fiscal charges relating to his work for German defense contractors and aerospace firms.

German officials are interested in Schreiber's donation of one million marks (about 600,000 dollars) to then chancellor Helmut Kohl's Christian Democratic Party in 1991, in respect to the government's decision around that time to sell arms to Saudi Arabia.

For the last three years Schreiber has been trying to fight extradition to Germany. On April 23, a Canadian judge agreed to hear arguments on June 19 for and against the extradition of the businessman.

With acknowledgement to Sapa.