GERMANY Trends and Developments Contributed by: Thomas Richter and Sina Loibl, RICHTER
Anti-Corruption in Germany: An Introduction Corruption offences have lost none of their sig - nificance for criminal law practice, as recent statistics of the Federal Criminal Police Office clearly show: according to these statistics, an average of more than 5,000 cases for suspicion of corruption were recorded each year between 2019 and 2023. These included suspected cas - es of active and passive corruption of public offi - cials (Sections 331 et seq of the German Crimi - nal Code), as well as taking and giving bribes in commercial practice (Section 299 of the Ger - man Criminal Code) and in the healthcare sector (Sections 299a and 299b of the German Criminal Code), among others. A particular stir was caused by stunning criminal proceedings before the Frankfurt Regional Court against a former senior public prosecutor who, prior to becoming a criminal suspect himself, was a highly respected head of a department for combatting corruption in the healthcare sec - tor and widely regarded as a high-profile “cor - ruption hunter”. During the trial, he confessed to having demand - ed and accepted bribes over many years in exchange for awarding commissions to exter - nal medical experts to deliver profitable expert opinions that were allegedly necessary for the pursuit of the investigations he was overseeing. The company of his accomplice, who was an old school friend, was the main beneficiary of these commissions. Following a tip-off from his late former girlfriend, the investigation was conducted under strictest secrecy before he was arrested in his own public prosecutor’s office in July 2020. Having served as press spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt, he was previously one of the most distinguished members of the author -
ity, with an impeccable reputation. Therefore, his arrest shook the Frankfurt judiciary and the legal community beyond, and was described by observers as an “unprecedented event in Ger - man judicial history”. After a four-month trial, he was sentenced to six years in prison for bribery, breach of trust and tax evasion by the Frankfurt Regional Court in May 2023. The court sentenced his schoolmate to two years and nine months in prison for bribery and subsidy fraud. Both have appealed against the verdict at the Federal Court of Justice. Recent developments in criminal law regarding members of parliament At the national level, the most significant legisla - tive developments in recent years have focused on bribery involving members of parliament. In June 2024, a new criminal provision (Section 108f of the German Criminal Code) established the offence of “improper promotion of interests” for elected officials. Under the new provision, it is a criminal offence for elected officials to demand, allow themselves to be promised or accept an undue pecuniary benefit for themselves or a third party in return for performing, or refraining from performing, an act during their tenure, in order to promote the interests of the party offering the benefit or a third party. In turn, any individual who offers, promises or grants an undue pecuniary benefit to an elected official in return for that elected official performing, or refraining from performing, an act during their tenure, in order to promote the interests of the party offering the benefit or a third party, is liable to a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine. Prior to the introduction of Section 108f of the German Criminal Code, the only basis to pros -
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