2024-09-06 08:51:34
Organized crime continues to preoccupy the German authorities. The number of cases is increasing slightly, and the amount of damage is reaching new heights.
The extent of organized crime in Germany remains at a high level. In 2023, the number of investigations in this area rose again slightly to 642 (previous year: 639), according to the situation report presented by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) on Thursday. This is the second highest level in the past ten years – only in 2021 was the number higher at 696, before that it had always been below 600 since 2014.
In 2023, the damage caused by organized crime was higher than ever. The total damage from all registered cases in 2023 was around 2.7 billion euros – more than double the previous year’s figure and almost three times the average of the past ten years. Only in 2021 was this figure anywhere near as high – at that time it was around 2.2 billion euros.
According to the situation report, the highest damages in 2023 were also recorded in the area of cybercrime. Here, the total amounted to 1.7 billion euros, compared to 588 million in the previous year. In tax and customs offenses, criminals caused 470 million euros in damage – the previous year it was 200 million euros.
The majority of cases in 2023 were attributed to drug-related crime. 264 proceedings were conducted here, which accounts for 41 percent of all proceedings. 58 proceedings were conducted in the area of human trafficking.
Across all areas, the law enforcement authorities, which include the BKA, the Federal Police and Customs, investigated 7,347 suspects. That was 91 more than the previous year. 32.5 percent of them were German, 57.8 percent did not have a German passport. According to the information, the nationality of 9.7 percent of the suspects could not be determined.