Reporting suspicions of money laundering and whistleblowing under German law

Outlines the reporting duties of credit institutions in cases of suspicious transactions, for instance when there is no apparent purpose, the transaction does not meet the client’s needs or is unnecessarily complicated; and the reporting procedures, including who must notify the authorities, form requirements, consequences for the transaction, internal procedure, and legal privileges and risks. Continues with the reporting duties of other professionals, including the envisaged changes under the European Union draft guidelines and the implications for legal advisers, who have protested against the proposed changes as a violation of civil rights to secrecy and confidentiality; this view is shared by the European Parliament. Gives a case study of a court decision which acquitted an defence attorney of knowingly accepting a fee derived from drug dealing, while another case convicted two lawyers for knowingly accepting a fee from a pyramid selling scheme; defence attorneys are still excluded from reporting duties, so the legal position is not clear.