Clifford Chance

German Law on Fighting Corruption – strengthening of criminal anti-corruption law and criminal anti-money laundering law entered into effect

25 January 2016

On 26 November 2015, the German Law on Fighting Corruption entered into effect. Its key elements are the extension of the criminal offence of taking and giving bribes in commercial practice (section 299 German Criminal Act) to acts beyond competition (implementation of a so-called "employer model") and the expansion of the criminal offences of bribing public officials (sections 331 et seqq. German Criminal Act) and their extraterritorial applicability. In addition, criminal liability for money laundering has been strengthened in several respects.

The law aims at implementing international regulations on fighting corruption into German law. It shall also help to clarify anti-corruption legislation by including a number of criminal offences of international corruption in the German Criminal Act which were previously set out in the Law on Combating International Bribery and in the EU Anti-Corruption Act.

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