Krypto- und Cybercrime

1What is it about?

Offences involving cryptocurrencies and the internet range from classic fraud (Section 263 of the Criminal Code) and computer fraud (Section 263a of the Criminal Code), through the unauthorised conduct of banking business or financial services without the required licence from BaFin (Section 54 of the Banking Act, Section 63 of the Payment Services Supervision Act), to money laundering in connection with crypto assets (Section 261 of the Criminal Code). Tax issues are also frequently in play, for instance the undeclared taxation of profits from trading in cryptocurrencies (Section 370 of the Fiscal Code).

The proceedings are technically demanding: investigating authorities analyse blockchain transactions, wallet addresses and trading platforms, often with an international dimension and cooperation between several states. Specialised advice is crucial both for those who have themselves fallen victim to crypto fraud and for suspects alleged to have operated a trading platform or a vending-machine business without a licence.

2Typical case scenarios

• Allegation of fraud through operating or advertising a crypto investment, a purported trading bot or a Ponzi scheme.
• Investigation for operating a trading platform, a crypto ATM or a custody solution without the required BaFin licence.
• Allegation of money laundering through exchanging, transferring or concealing crypto assets derived from a predicate offence.
• Tax criminal investigation over undeclared profits from cryptocurrency transactions or staking income.
• You have yourself become the victim of crypto fraud, for example through a fake exchange, a romance scam or a pump-and-dump scheme.
• Seizure of hardware wallets, data storage devices or crypto assets in the course of a search.

3Frequently asked questions

4How the proceedings unfold

1. Suspicious activity or complaintA complaint from an injured party, a report by a bank or trading platform, or a tip from BaFin or another financial regulator.
2. Digital investigationAnalysis of blockchain transactions, wallet attribution, seizure of devices and access credentials.
3. Investigation proceedingsQuestioning, obtaining expert opinions, often with an international mutual-legal-assistance dimension.
4. ConclusionDiscontinuation, a penalty order, or an indictment, with possible confiscation of assets running in parallel.

5What requires particular attention

• Do not disclose access credentials to wallets or exchange accounts without prior legal advice.
• If you have been the victim of fraud, preserve transaction hashes, communications and screenshots as completely as possible.
• Also report crypto fraud to the relevant trading platform, as this may enable accounts to be blocked.
• If you engage in commercial crypto activities, check early on whether a licensing requirement under the Banking Act or the Payment Services Supervision Act applies.

6How we defend you

We work our way into the technical foundations of your case, from the blockchain transaction to the way the relevant platform functions, and critically examine the authorities’ investigative findings, in particular the attribution of wallet addresses to you personally. In the case of allegations under the Banking Act or the Payment Services Supervision Act, we examine whether the activity was actually subject to a licensing requirement at all.

On tax matters, we work closely with tax advisers and examine the possibility of a voluntary disclosure. If you have fallen victim to crypto fraud, we support you in filing a complaint and in enforcing civil law claims, including across borders.