Commercial offences

In the area of commercial offences, entrepreneurial and commercial activities have increasingly come into the focus of the investigation authorities. Often, the cases relate to tax-related offences, such as tax evasion, or accusations of corruption, embezzlement or insolvency offences (so-called white-collar crime). In particular in the area of gambling, a frequent accusation is the alleged illegal organisation of, participation in, or advertising for, games of chance. 

Representation in cases relating to commercial offences

Reliable and holistic consultancy and representation services in the area of commercial offences therefore require expertise in the area of tax and company law, in addition to criminal law competence. Dealing with gambling-related offences furthermore requires exact knowledge of gambling law and the gambling industry.

In this context, we assume consultancy and representation services in the following focus areas:

  • Gambling-related offences
  • Tax-related offences, e.g. for tax evasion or voluntary self-disclosures

Compliance

We advise companies from the gambling and gaming industry on compliance and matters relating to commercial offences. This comprises advice for start-up companies, assessment of corporate strategies, accompaniment during all stages of the proceedings and the development and assessment of examination criteria.

In particular in the field of gaming and gambling law, there is a complex “regulatory network” on various legal levels. Provisions on the federal, state and municipal level supplement each other and overlap. Many consultancy questions with relevance for practical work cannot be answered without knowing the links from the classical areas of law - civil, criminal and public law - but also tax law. In view of these dynamics, legislative changes which take place quite frequently have to be anticipated and have to be taken into consideration for the consultancy work. In the run-up to upcoming corporate decisions, but also during ongoing proceedings, effective compliance management allows the development of expedient strategies, making it easier to clear important hurdles.

The focus of our consultancy services includes:

Consultancy services for start-up companies: Examination of corporate strategies

In particular in the context of globalisation and digitalisation, complex legal questions arise which are of elementary significance for enduring corporate success. This applies to start-ups as well as to companies already established in the market who are continuously facing new challenges. In order to be able to better make the associated entrepreneurial decisions, corresponding well-founded legal expertise is required.
In this context, we assume the following tasks:

  • Preparation of legal statements and opinions
  • Communication with all contact partners, such as authorities, courts, associations or legislative bodies
  • Involvement of experienced and leading specialists from our diversified network
Accompaniment in all stages of the proceedings

Often, court proceedings are already pending when our consultancy services are requested. Prospective analysis can lay the strategic groundwork for a successful conclusion of the proceedings in this area as well.

In this context, we assume the following tasks:

  • Consultancy services in all stages of the proceedings (e.g. criminal proceedings, civil law proceedings, disputes before the administrative, finance and social courts)
  • Consultancy services in all stages of the administrative proceedings (e.g. investigation proceedings by the public prosecution, ongoing investigations by tax authorities or hearings proceedings by administrative authorities)
  • Involvement of experienced and leading experts from our diversified network
Development and assessment of examination criteria

In particular in complex areas of the law, parts of the economy often voluntarily submit themselves to standards in order to meet requirements for control and transparency. This can lead to the development of regulations, in order to harmonise the interest in a meaningful regulation and the entrepreneurial objectives.

In this context, we assume the following tasks:

  • Consultancy services for independent supervisory bodies; development and assessment of examination criteria
  • Communication with all contact partners, such as authorities, associations and legislative bodies
  • Preparation of legal opinions in order to evaluate and further develop existing examination catalogues

Your Team

Claus Hambach LL.M.

Partner