but when german police moved in to raid spag's offices, they discovered they had a problem. >> it was a political affair. they must inform at this time chancellor gerhard schroeder. so it's the first time, i think, that about a normal investigation from a prosecutor in a small town in germany, mr. schroeder get informed of, would like to be informed about this investigation. why he would like to be informed? because... putin. it was so high-level. >> narrator: to this day, gerhard schroeder and vladimir putin are close friends who celebrate birthdays together. >> what happened to the investigation in the end? >> it finished without any result. >> narrator: schroeder has never publicly addressed the case, but their friendship provoked a scandal in germany in 2005. just two weeks before losing a general election, schroeder signed off on a billion-euro loan guarantee to russia's gas pipeline to europe. after he retired, schroeder had a new job: chairman of the pipeline's consortium. >> gerhard schroeder epitomizes the scandal in germany. and to put it mildly, he didn't seem to be very bo