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Money laundering criminal law & AMLA compliance
A core competence of schirach.law in Munich is money laundering. schirach.law masters preventive advice and effective defense in cases of fines under the Money Laundering Act (GWG ) as well as in cases of money laundering (§ 261 StGB).
Extensive experience in the field of money laundering
Attorney Marco Benedikt von Schirach is a member of the Board of the Munich Bar Association as Chairman of Department XV - Money Laundering Prevention . In accordance with Sections 50 No. 3 and 51 of the German Money Laundering Act (GwG), the Munich Bar Association is responsible for the supervision of obligated lawyers in its district under money laundering law.
Due to his expertise, Marco Benedikt von Schirach is frequently requested as a speaker for current money laundering law lectures and training events.
As a result of many years of intensive involvement in money laundering matters, schirach.law has been able to build up a wealth of experience that can be drawn upon in the prevention of money laundering and defense in cases of misdemeanor and felony charges.
What is money laundering?
Money laundering is an attempt to present illegally acquired assets as if they had been acquired legally. The assets are "laundered" for the authorities, so to speak. The offense of money laundering requires that a so-called predicate offense has been committed first, from which the asset originates.
Attempts to smuggle illegally obtained assets into the economic cycle are no longer only punishable under the Criminal Code in accordance with Section 261 of the Criminal Code. The Money Laundering Act (GwG) also imposes a wide range of reporting, due diligence and documentation obligations on certain groups of persons, so-called "obliged entities". This is intended to make it possible to identify persons who are guilty of money laundering more effectively.
Reorganization of the fight against money laundering and financial crime
The 2021 coalition agreement provides for the optimization of anti-money laundering structures and resources. International and national investigative authorities have long been required to systematically pursue money laundering.
This is partly due to the activities of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF is the most important international body for combating and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The Federal Republic of Germany was last audited in 2022. On 25.08.2022, the FATF published the corresponding final report published. The Federal Minister of Finance subsequently said that Germany had not performed "brilliantly" and that he wanted to reorganize the fight against money laundering and financial crime.
Financial Crime Control Act (FKBG)
In October 2023, the government draft of a law to improve the fight against financial crime (FKBG) was presented. This is intended to create the legal adjustments for the reorganization of the fight against money laundering. The establishment of the Federal Bureau of Anti-Financial Cr ime (BBF) is planned for 01.01.2024. The BBF will then also include the newly established Central Office for Money Laundering Supervision (ZfG). The aim is to strengthen a uniform, stringent risk-based approach to money laundering supervision in the non-financial sector. It is also intended to coordinate and support supervisory measures under money laundering law throughout Germany. Among other things, the ZfG is to draw up guidelines for a uniform approach to supervisory activities and define criteria for assessing effectiveness. The supervisory authorities will have to report on this in future.
National and international pressure will therefore continue to increase. schirach.law helps to avoid mistakes in this dynamic environment.
