Financial Crime World

Title: White-Collar Crime and Finance: A New Reality in Germany

Germany’s White-Collar Crime Landscape: Transformation and Challenges

  • Profound transformation in Germany’s white-collar crime landscape
  • High-profile cases such as tax evasion scandals, cum-ex trades, and the Wirecard AG breakdown
  • Intense public scrutiny leading to significant changes in the legal landscape

Impacts on Criminal Proceedings

  • Public pressure influencing company responses
  • Instant public statements expected after investigations begin
  • Limited defensive strategies and skepticism towards internal investigations
  • Public prosecutors support fact processing
  • Searches at law firms and seizure of legal documents
  • Vehement defense creating suspicion

The Rise of ‘Crown Witnesses’

  • Confrontational attitude towards white-collar crime suspects
  • Increased reliance on confessing and incriminating accomplices
  • Amendments to limitation rules, disgorgement laws, procedural rights, and tax law interpretation
  • Increased administrative fines
  • Corporate criminal law under consideration

Industry Responsibility and the Balance Between Prosecution and Defense

  • Long-standing lenient approach leading to reputational loss and stricter conditions
  • Finding a balance between prosecution and defense rights

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