For the first time, there is a concrete legislative proposal so that the authorities in Germany can easily confiscate dubious assets from clans, gangs and criminals. On Tuesday, at the suggestion of Justice Senator Felor Badenberg (CDU), the Berlin Senate passed a corresponding Federal Council initiative to introduce a so-called reversal of the burden of proof. Accordingly, the criminal procedure code should be changed.

The confiscation of illegal assets has been made easier since 2017. The most prominent example is 77 properties owned by the infamous Remmo clan. The public prosecutor’s office confiscated the properties of the extended German-Arab family on suspicion that they had been acquired with loot and profits from criminal transactions.

However, money laundering investigations against Remmo members had previously failed. To this day, the courts are dealing with the question of whether the properties were undoubtedly purchased with looted money and can therefore be confiscated in full. In addition, the investigative authorities are observing that criminals in organized crime, but also in economic, tax and environmental crimes, are becoming increasingly professional when they conceal and exploit loot and proceeds.

Authorities are currently in a structural need for evidence

Investigators often come across assets that cannot initially be attributed to a specific crime, but whose illegal origin is obvious. This involves real estate, high-quality cars, large amounts of cash or cryptocurrencies. To date, assets of “unclear origin” can only be confiscated if the authorities prove beyond doubt that the assets originated from a crime. Experts speak of a “structural lack of evidence”.

The Senate Judiciary Administration therefore sees clear gaps in the previous legal regulations. A working group of the Conference of Justice Ministers led by Berlin and Bremen identified a concrete need for reform in 2024.

Since then, the Federal Ministry of Justice has been examining the proposals – so far without any concrete results. Since last week, the federal government has only had an action plan against organized crime. But it also only announces that a reversal of the burden of proof should be introduced for the confiscation of assets of unclear origin, especially in the case of “striking asset-income discrepancies and connections to organized crime”.

Badenberg wants to “take away the financial breeding ground for criminal structures”

After years of preparatory work, Berlin’s Senator for Justice Badenberg is now presenting concrete proposals for changing the law. Accordingly, people with significant assets must dispel the authorities’ doubts about their legal origins.

The security authorities no longer have to prove the illegal origin, but rather those affected. According to Badenberg, this would be the “basis for consistently and legally securely skimming off illegal profits and depriving criminal structures of their financial breeding ground.”

In the future it will no longer be said: in case of doubt, for the person concerned. Rather, those affected should have to provide evidence that their assets did not originate from a crime. According to Badenberg’s proposed law, authorities should in future simply be able to assume that assets are of criminal origin if there is a gross disproportion between the value and the legal income of the person concerned.

“In the future, residual doubts should no longer automatically go in favor of the person concerned – as long as they remain silent, the money remains secured and will be confiscated at the end,” said Badenberg. “The constitutional state must act more decisively in the fight against organized crime. It is no longer acceptable that the state has to fully prove the illegal origin of every single euro while criminals openly display their wealth.”

We will consistently confiscate luxury properties and flashy cars financed from criminal transactions. Felor Badenberg (CDU), Senator for Justice and Consumer Protection

If assets worth millions are clearly disproportionate to legal income, a legal presumption of illegal origin must apply in the future. This is the consistent enforcement of the rule of law. “We are reversing the logic where structures are systematically abused to conceal illegal activities,” said Badenberg. “We are eliminating a systematic obstacle to providing evidence and are thus strengthening the state’s ability to act. The rule of law is not a protective shield for wealth obtained through crime. We will consistently confiscate luxury properties and flashy cars financed from criminal transactions.”

The judicial administration calls three concrete examplesin which cases suspicious assets should be confiscated in the future. And in which, according to the current legal situation, the police were initially allowed to seize the money, but the proceedings were always stopped later – and the suspects got the money back.

1. At a Traffic control The police find bundles of cash in the back seat of a car, totaling 50,000 euros. The owner is on welfare and is known for his connections to organized crime. He does not provide any information about the origin of the money.
2. On BER airport A man is stopped who has 100,000 euros sewn into the lining of his coat and has been working a mini-job in Germany for decades and does not provide any information about the money.
3. At a Apartment search On suspicion of drug trafficking, officers discovered half a million euros in cash under a carpet in a recess in the balcony. Drug trafficking cannot be proven, but the suspect has not yet had a job and has not received any social benefits.

In criminal law, the presumption of innocence actually applies – the state must concretely prove that the accused has committed a crime. Nevertheless, the judicial administration sees no problem with reversing the burden of proof in the case of assets. The reform is compatible with case law and constitutional law, and the confiscation of illegal assets is not a punishment.

Stephan Weh, Berlin regional head of the police union (GdP), said of Badenberg’s proposal that it was a “real game changer in the fight against organized crime.” This is the only way to prevent incriminated assets from being flushed further into the legal system. Germany is a money laundering paradise; every year, a good 100 billion euros from prostitution, protection rackets, arms or drug trafficking and other crimes are invested in real estate, vehicles and other luxury goods.

“When it comes to financial investigations, however, our colleagues repeatedly reach their limits because international money flows are concealed using various methods such as hawala banking and two houses sold in Lebanon to a drug dealer receiving social assistance are enough of an excuse,” said Weh. With Badenberg’s proposal, “we would finally have a legal framework” to close the “serious gaps” and “be able to act”.