Latest news and statistics about crime in Germany. Security data about the black market in Germany is collected from international organizations, intelligence reports, national security agencies and news articles.
According to art experts in Europe, as of 2013 there are still roughly 100,000 artworks that were stolen by the Nazis that are still missing. The value of the artwork based on modern-day valuations is $10 Billion.
Source: Patricia Cohen and Tom Mashberg, “Family, ‘Not Willing to Forget,’ Pursues Art It Lost to Nazis,” New York Times, April 26,2013.
A survey conducted by KPMG found that an estimated 65.5 billion illegal cigarettes are sold in the European Union each year. EU member states lose an estimated $16.3 Billion (€12.5 Billion) in total tax revenue due to the illicit trade.
In Germany, one in five cigarettes smoked does not get taxed.
Source: ”German tobacco sales decrease as smuggling is up,” Deutsche Welle, April 22, 2013.
In 2011, authorities in the European Union seized 2.1 million counterfeit toys. According to a breakdown by Toy News, five countries in the EU accounted for 57 percent of those seizures.
Top five EU member states where fake toys were seized in 2011:
1. Romania: 319,174 counterfeit toys seized.
2. Germany: 308,506 counterfeit toys seized.
3. France: 212,273 counterfeit toys seized.
4. Spain: 193,149 counterfeit toys seized.
5. Bulgaria: 181,838 counterfeit toys seized.
Source: Dominic Sacco, “Romania is counterfeit toy capital of Europe,” Toy News, April 18, 2013.
In 2011, police in Germany seized 1.4 tons of methamphetamine and amphetamine within the country, a record amount of seizures.
In addition to an increase in trafficking, the number of first-time crystal meth users in Germany identified by police increased by 163 percent in 2011.
Source: Joel Stonington, “New Exhibit Highlights Germany’s Growing Meth Problem,” Spiegel Online, July 6, 2012.
The trade union representing Germany’s police investigators estimates that between $65 to $78 Billion (50 to 60 Billion Euros) are laundering within the country each year.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) stated that other countries investigate money laundering and detect financial crimes at a rate of four to twenty times more than Germany.
One method that money is laundered in Germany is through illegal gambling. From slot machines that pay out less money and illegal online gambling, up to $155 Million (120 Million Euros) is laundered each year.
Source: Wolfgang Dick, “Germany, a safe haven for money laundering,” Deutsche Welle, October 30, 2012.
Law enforcement officials in Germany that between 2007 and 2012, there have been 25 prosecution cases against the Italian Mafia in the court system of Germany.
In the German state of Bavaria, police estimate that there are 65 active Mafia members working in the state.
Source: “Germany ‘hotbed’ of Italian organized crime: Experts,” PressTV, August 11, 2012.
In 2011, movie piracy in Germany created losses of $200 Million to the film industry. Users in Germany illegally downloaded or viewed unauthorized steams of movies on 185 million occasions.
In the same year, the music industry in Germany lost $660 Million to pirated music.
The total losses of counterfeit goods in Germany is estimated to cause losses of up to $32 Billion a year.
Source: Scott Roxborough, “Study: Cost of German Music Piracy at $660 Million,” Hollywood Reporter, June 12, 2012.
The European Commission estimates that organized crime generates up to $388 Billion a year in profits from cybercrime.
In the United Kingdom alone, British businesses were losing up to $28 Billion (21 Billion Euros) from cybercrime. In Germany, police reported over 5,000 phishing incidents in 2010, an increase from the less than 200 incidents reported in 2008.
Source: Harvey Morris, “Europe Cracks Down on Cybercrime,” New York Times, IHT Rendezvous, March 29, 2012.
An estimated 200 women are believed to be working as prostitutes in the German city of Bonn. On average, about 20 women are working in the streets of the city.
Prostitution is legal in Germany, and the city of Bonn collected $326,000 (250,000 euros) from a “sex tax,” which collected revenue from saunas, brothels, and street pay meters in 2011.
Source: AFP, “German city says ‘sex meter’ a success,” Google News, January 24, 2012.
Companies in Germany lost an average of $11.7 Million (8.4 Million Euros) between the year 2009 and 2011, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
50 percent of responding companies reported falling victim to embezzlement, fraud, corruption, industrial espionage and other financial crimes, compared to 61 percent in the 2009 report. However, in the 2009 report, the average financial crime losses reported by the companies was 5.6 million euros.
Source: Ben Knight, “Financial crime becomes less frequent, but more damaging,” Deutsche Wells, October 27, 2011.
