Germany's federal government has declared war on organised crime with a sweeping new action plan targeting money laundering, faster asset seizures and better coordination between law enforcement agencies. The federal cabinet approved the package of measures on Wednesday. Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil described the measures at their presentation in Berlin as a "gamechanger" in the fight against crime.
The action plan provides for assets such as luxury cars and villas "that come from dubious sources" to be seized more quickly. Potential suspects will be required to prove that they acquired these assets legally. "We want to hurt the criminals, but we also want to strengthen the trust of citizens in the rule of law," said Klingbeil. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) added: "We are hitting organised crime where it hurts the most, in the wallet."
Customs authorities and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) will in future be able to access each other's data and analyse it with the help of artificial intelligence. With new digital powers, investigative authorities will be able to search large volumes of data using AI and better identify perpetrators. "We are now making this legally possible," said Klingbeil. Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) stressed that the new measures should be introduced in accordance with the Basic Law.
Klingbeil pointed out that organised crime caused financial damage of €2.6 billion in Germany in 2024, with money laundering playing a central role. Investigative units are therefore to be better equipped in terms of both personnel and technology. This would also allow complex international investigations to be advanced. "In a world where criminals are increasingly networking internationally, we must strike back in the same way," said the Finance Minister.
According to Hubig, the action plan is about "nothing less than the defence of the rule of law." Clans and cartels are seeking a "power struggle with the state", and the federal government intends to counter this with "crime-fighting that is fit for the times," she said.
The plan received a mixed response from the opposition. The Greens said the plans could be "an important step" if they lead to the dismantling of duplicate structures. What is needed, they argued, is "a cross-departmental, effective federal authority, for example in the form of a financial police force, rather than continuing to expand parallel structures between customs and the BKA."
Left Party politician Isabelle Vandre criticised the fact that the action plan makes no mention of organised tax evasion by banks and companies. "Tax evasion must finally be enshrined in law as a criminal offence of a criminal nature and prosecuted accordingly," she said.
The German Customs and Finance Union (BDZ) welcomed the planned strengthening of investigative authorities in terms of personnel and technology, but also warned against unrealistic expectations, particularly regarding AI-assisted investigative methods. In many places, it noted, there is a lack of high-performance servers, secure networks and modern IT systems capable of processing large volumes of data. Criminals also frequently conduct their business using cash and complex networks of shell companies.
The German Judges' Association (DRB) called for prosecution authorities to also be strengthened in the fight against organised crime. Criminals have it too easy, "also because they are often dealing with chronically understaffed and technically poorly equipped prosecution authorities," said DRB federal executive director Sven Rebehn. Across Germany, 2,000 prosecutors are missing, more than one million open cases have piled up, and complex cases frequently "cannot be fully investigated" due to a lack of resources.
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