BERLIN (AP) — Investigators carried out searches at the German finance and justice ministries on Thursday in a probe of suspected obstruction of justice by employees of a unit of the country's customs service that fights money laundering, prosecutors said.

The searches come just over two weeks ahead of a parliamentary election in which Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is running for chancellor and his center-left Social Democrats are leading polls. The justice minister is also a member of his party.

Prosecutors have since last year been looking into allegations that the customs unit didn't forward indications of possible money laundering from banks to police and judicial authorities, news agency dpa reported.

Documents previously seized from the customs unit showed that there was “extensive communication” between it and the ministries that were searched, prosecutors in the western city of Osnabrueck said.

They said they are looking into whether officials at the ministries and elsewhere were involved in decisions by the customs department. It will take a few weeks to analyze documents that investigators secured, they added.

The finance ministry said the investigation was not directed against its own employees but against unidentified people at the customs unit's Cologne headquarters, dpa reported. It said that the ministry is giving its full support to authorities.