Tag Archives: Finn Zeidler

Consequences of Wirecard Scandal: New Requirements for Corporate Governance and Audit of German Listed Companies

by Silke Beiter, Ferdinand Fromholzer, Johanna Hauser, and Finn Zeidler,

As a reaction to the spectacular collapse of Wirecard, a then-DAX-listed financial service provider, in June 2020, an Act on Strengthening the Financial Market Integrity (Finanzmarktintegritätsstärkungsgesetz – FISG) has now been adopted following several months of intense discussions. It enters into effect on 1 July 2021 with a transitional period for certain provisions. The Act establishes new requirements for the corporate governance and the audit of listed companies as well as other public-interest entities.
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The German Government Escalates Its Fight Against Money Laundering

by Finn Zeidler and Ralf van Ermingen-Marbach

Germany’s AML framework has already been described as insufficient by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) in the past. Since the collapse of payment service provider Wirecard, the prevention of money laundering has been placed even higher on the German government’s agenda.

The implementation of the 5th EU Money Laundering Directive on January 1, 2020 already exceeded the EU’s requirements. Furthermore, the German government adopted a “National Strategy Package” and—in direct conjunction with the Wirecard collapse—a “16-Points Action Plan” at the beginning and in the middle of last year.

Additional amendments to the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch) and the German Anti Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz), plus new structures to be implemented in law enforcement agencies, all of which we describe below, shall bring further improvements in combating money laundering in Germany more effectively.

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The German Corporate Sanctions Act—Heralding a New Era for Enforcement in Germany

by Ralf van Ermingen-Marbach and Finn Zeidler

While corporate criminal liability has become the standard in many countries, as of today, companies in Germany can only be fined under regulatory offense law. German criminal law does not provide for corporate criminal liability.

Now, the coalition parties are seeking to establish a corporate sanctions law addressing corporate criminal conduct. The draft of the Corporate Sanctions Act (“Verbandssanktionengesetz” or the “Act”) introduces a hybrid system of criminal law and regulatory offense law. Companies would be prosecuted and sanctioned under the Act if (i) one of their managers committed a corporate criminal offense (e.g., fraud or bribery) or (ii) if another person committed such an offense while performing duties on behalf of the company when management could have prevented this by taking appropriate compliance measures. After a long and tough debate, the coalition parties have recently agreed on the draft law and are pushing ahead with the legislative process. According to statements from the governing coalition, the German Bundestag could therefore pass the Act even before summer recess. Continue reading →