Extension of predicate offences for money laundering to include “tax savings”

As of July 1, 2019 stricter regulations are in place with regard to predicate offences for money laundering. Up to now the sanctions with regard to tax offences (tax fraud or qualified tax evasion) applied when assets “originated” from offences of this kind, i.e. when the submission of incorrect or falsified documents, or documents with untrue content, resulted in an influx of capital (e.g. in the form of a wrongly-received tax refund or tax credit). With this change in legislation, these sanctions now already apply when a pure tax saving is achieved by means of tax fraud. In other words: up to now, an influx of capital actually had to occur, now no outflow of capital, or only a low level of outflow (to the amount of the tax saving) need ensue.