Allegations of white-collar crime in Germany, including fraud, embezzlement, corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion, can expose companies and the individuals who lead them to criminal prosecution and asset seizure. In many cases, German criminal law targets individuals directly: managing directors, board members, and company officers can face prosecution, fines, and imprisonment independent of any proceedings against the company itself.
At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our business criminal defense lawyers represent companies and executives across the full range of white-collar and business crime matters. Our team includes lawyers with prosecutorial experience at the Cologne Public Prosecutor’s Office, giving us a direct understanding of how financial crime cases are built and where the vulnerabilities in a prosecution’s position are most likely to lie. We also have a specialist in forensic psychology and criminology on the team, an analytical resource that is rarely found in a general criminal defense practice and that is particularly relevant in cases involving questions of criminal responsibility and intent.
As a full-service law firm with over ten years of experience advising international clients, we are also positioned to address the wider legal consequences that business crime proceedings frequently trigger, across tax, insolvency, employment, and immigration law, without the need to instruct a second firm.
Business Crime in Germany: What International Clients Need to Know
For international business executives, an encounter with the German criminal justice system can be disorienting. The procedures, the authorities involved, and the personal exposure that comes with a leadership role in a German company are often unfamiliar, and the decisions that need to be made quickly are frequently the ones that matter most.
How Investigations Begin
Business crime investigations in Germany rarely begin with a formal charge or an arrest. The triggers are often less visible: a routine tax audit that flags an irregularity, a report from a whistleblower, a customs check, or a co-suspect in a separate investigation who names individuals at your firm. Once a suspicion arises, the public prosecutor’s office opens a preliminary investigation, which can run for months before the company or its officers are formally notified. A police summons, a search of business premises, or the seizure of company devices and records are often the first signs that proceedings are already well underway.
Personal Liability for Executives
A point that consistently surprises international clients is the extent to which German criminal law targets individuals rather than entities. In many cases, criminal prosecution, with the prospect of fines, asset seizure, and imprisonment, falls on the people who lead the company rather than the company itself. Managing directors, board members, and senior officers can face personal criminal liability for decisions made in the course of their professional role, independent of any proceedings against the company. In white-collar cases, the prosecution’s focus frequently falls on questions of intent and knowledge: what the individual knew, when they knew it, and what decisions they made as a result. Early legal advice is essential to understanding the extent of personal exposure before making any statement to investigators.
Parallel Legal Consequences
Business crime proceedings in Germany rarely stay within a single area of law. A fraud investigation can trigger parallel proceedings in tax law. Allegations of insolvency offenses arise alongside questions of civil liability to creditors. For foreign nationals in executive roles, a criminal conviction may have implications for residence status. Managing these parallel consequences requires coordination across multiple areas of law simultaneously, something that is difficult to achieve when instructions are split across separate firms. At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our full-service structure means that specialist colleagues across tax, insolvency, employment, and immigration law are available within the same firm, from the outset of proceedings.
Cross-Border Matters and the EPPO
For matters involving EU funds, procurement, or financial interests, companies may find themselves facing investigation not by the German public prosecutor alone but by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, an independent EU body with jurisdiction across 22 member states, including Germany. The EPPO has the power to investigate and prosecute fraud, corruption, money laundering, and VAT fraud affecting the EU budget, and can act even where national authorities have not. Its procedures differ from those of the national prosecutor in important respects, including how investigations are conducted across borders, how evidence is gathered, and how national courts interact with the EPPO’s delegated prosecutors. Companies facing EPPO involvement require representation that understands both the supranational framework and the German criminal justice system it operates within.
The Importance of Early Intervention
The investigation phase in Germany, before any charge is formally brought, is often where the outcome of a case is shaped. At this stage, it may still be possible to achieve discontinuation of proceedings, challenge the basis of the investigation, or limit the scope of asset seizures. The earlier legal representation is in place, the greater the opportunity to influence how the case develops. Waiting until a charge has been filed or a trial date set significantly narrows the options available.
Explore Our Business Criminal Law Practice Areas
Below is a full overview of our business criminal law subpages, organized by practice area. Select the topic most relevant to your situation for detailed information and specific legal guidance.
Business Crime in Germany: Criminal or Administrative Offense?
One of the most important questions for any business facing criminal exposure in Germany is whether the conduct in question constitutes a criminal offense or an administrative one. The distinction carries significant consequences for who is prosecuted, under what procedure, and what penalties apply.
| Criminal offense (Straftat) | Administrative offense (Ordnungswidrigkeit) | |
|---|---|---|
| Prosecuted by | Public prosecutor via the criminal courts | Administrative authorities (tax office, customs, licensing bodies) |
| Governing law | Criminal Code (StGB) / Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) | Administrative Offenses Act (OWiG) |
| Possible consequences | Fine, imprisonment, criminal record entry | Fine only – no criminal record |
| Who is in the frame | Individual officers and executives personally | The company as an entity, or individuals |
| Example: fraud | Deliberate misrepresentation causing financial loss | Minor billing irregularities |
| Example: tax | Deliberate underreporting of income (tax evasion) | Late filing, minor procedural errors |
| Example: employment | Withholding social security contributions, illegal employment | Failure to register an employee, minor record-keeping breaches |
| Example: customs | Smuggling, deliberate customs fraud | Incomplete declarations, administrative errors |
| Example: environment | Deliberate pollution, hazardous waste disposal | Minor regulatory breaches |
Supporting Companies Against Crime
Not every business crime matter involves a company under investigation. Companies are frequently the victims of criminal activity, and responding effectively requires the same quality of legal support as defense work. At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, we advise and represent companies that have been targeted by fraud, cybercrime, extortion, and other criminal activity, and help businesses put the structures in place to prevent these situations from arising.
CEO Fraud and Corporate Fraud
CEO fraud, also known as business email compromise, involves criminals impersonating senior executives to trick employees into transferring funds or disclosing sensitive information. Companies of all sizes are vulnerable, and the financial and reputational consequences can be severe. Our lawyers support businesses in responding to CEO fraud and other corporate fraud incidents, pursuing perpetrators, and recovering assets.
Corporate Identity Theft and Cybercrime
Businesses in Germany are increasingly targeted by cybercriminal activity, including corporate identity theft, phishing, and spoof websites. Timely legal intervention is essential to limit the damage and pursue those responsible. Our lawyers advise on immediate response measures and represent companies in subsequent legal proceedings.
Extortion and Blackmail
Extortion and blackmail present serious threats to businesses, particularly where perpetrators threaten to disclose damaging information or disrupt operations. Our lawyers advise companies on how to respond to extortion and blackmail, work with law enforcement to pursue those responsible, and help businesses develop preventive strategies to reduce future exposure.
Compliance and Whistleblower Systems
Robust internal compliance structures and whistleblower mechanisms are among the most effective tools available to businesses seeking to prevent criminal activity from taking root. Our lawyers advise companies on designing and implementing compliance frameworks and appointing a Lawyer of Trust to serve as a confidential point of contact for employees.
Why Work With Our Business Crime Team?
Business crime proceedings move quickly, and the decisions made in the first days of a case frequently determine its outcome. What companies and executives need at that moment is a team that understands not just the law but how German investigative authorities approach financial crime cases, and that can act immediately, without needing time to get up to speed.
Our business crime team includes lawyers with prior prosecutorial experience at the Cologne Public Prosecutor’s Office, giving us a direct understanding of how financial crime cases are built from the other side: which evidence carries weight, how investigators approach questions of individual liability, and where the vulnerabilities in a prosecution’s position are most likely to lie. The team also includes a specialist in forensic psychology and criminology, bringing analytical depth to questions of criminal responsibility and intent central to many white-collar cases and rarely found in a general criminal defense practice.
For international clients, cross-border exposure is often a factor in business crime matters. A fraud or corruption investigation that begins in one jurisdiction can quickly develop implications in another, through European Arrest Warrants, Interpol Red Notices, or extradition proceedings. Our lawyers have extensive experience handling international criminal matters across borders, and represent clients in extradition proceedings and Interpol cases as well as in the underlying criminal investigations that give rise to them.
For matters involving EU funds or financial interests, our team has experience advising clients facing investigations by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, a supranational body whose procedures and jurisdiction differ in important respects from those of national prosecutors, and whose involvement adds a layer of complexity that requires specific expertise to handle effectively.
As a full-service law firm, we are also positioned to address the wider legal consequences that business crime proceedings frequently trigger, across tax, insolvency, employment, and immigration law, within the same firm and from the outset of proceedings. If your company or its officers are facing criminal exposure in Germany, we encourage you to contact our business crime team at the earliest opportunity.
Frequently Asked Questions relating to Our Business Crime Services
If you or someone you know is facing an urgent criminal law situation – an arrest, a house search, a police summons, or any other matter requiring immediate legal advice – contact our criminal defense team directly. We are available around the clock and respond to urgent inquiries as a priority.
You can reach us by phone at +49 221 93295960, by email at info@se-legal.de, or via the contact form on our website. Our lawyers advise in English from the first contact.
Contact a criminal defense lawyer before responding in any way. A police summons does not obligate a managing director to make any statement, and the right to remain silent applies from the first contact with investigative authorities. Any statement made without legal preparation, however well-intentioned, can be used against you at a later stage.
German criminal law does not provide for the criminal prosecution of legal entities. A GmbH or AG cannot itself be convicted of a criminal offense, and criminal liability falls on the individuals who lead and manage the company. However, companies can face substantial regulatory fines under the Administrative Offenses Act (OWiG), and asset seizure proceedings can target company assets where these are connected to alleged criminal activity.
Common triggers include a routine tax audit, a whistleblower report, a customs check, or a co-suspect naming individuals at your company. The public prosecutor’s office may open a preliminary investigation that runs for months before the company or its officers are formally notified. A police summons, or search of business premises, is often the first sign that proceedings are already underway.
Yes, and achieving discontinuation before trial is often the best possible outcome, as it avoids a public hearing and protects the reputation of those involved. Under Section 153a of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO), discontinuation is possible subject to conditions, typically a financial penalty, without any finding of guilt being recorded. The likelihood of achieving this depends significantly on the offense, the evidence, and how defense counsel presents the case at an early stage.
The EPPO is an independent EU body with jurisdiction across 22 member states, including Germany. It investigates and prosecutes fraud, corruption, money laundering, and VAT fraud affecting the EU budget, and can act even where national authorities have not initiated proceedings. It becomes relevant where a matter involves EU funds or financial interests spanning more than one member state.
A conviction in Germany results in an entry in the Bundeszentralregister, the central federal register. For foreign nationals, this can affect residence status, the ability to obtain or renew a work permit, and professional licensing. These consequences should be considered from the outset and taken into account when instructing your lawyers on what outcome matters most.
Immediately. The investigation phase is where the most important decisions are made and where legal representation has the greatest influence on the outcome. Early intervention gives your lawyers the opportunity to assess the scope of the investigation, advise on cooperation with authorities, and work toward discontinuation before a charge is ever filed. At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, we are available for urgent consultations and can act immediately when time is critical.
Practice Group: Our German Criminal Defense Lawyers
Practice Group:
Our German Criminal Defense Lawyers
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