Counterfeit money case before the Hamburg-Mitte District Court

Before the Hamburg-Mitte District Court, our client had initially been charged with counterfeiting under Section 146 of the German Criminal Code (StGB) - a serious offence carrying a minimum prison sentence of one year, and therefore classified as a felony under German law.

The facts of the case were initially quite clear: it was undisputed that the client had attempted to pay with counterfeit money knowingly, as confirmed by witness testimony. However, the decisive point of our defense strategy was that the prosecution could not prove that our client already knew the money was counterfeit at the time he received it.

The legal concept of "sich Verschaffen" (to obtain counterfeit money) under Section 146 (1) No. 3 StGB requires knowledge of the counterfeit nature of the money at the time of receipt - not merely at the time of attempting to pass it on.

Since this could not be proven after the evidence was presented, the more serious accusation of counterfeiting could not be upheld.

Instead, the court convicted our client only of passing counterfeit money (Inverkehrbringen von Falschgeld), which constitutes a significantly lesser offence. He received a fine of 70 daily rates, meaning he does not have a criminal record, as fines below 90 daily rates do not appear in a certificate of good conduct in Germany (if there are no prior convictions).