Reduction of confiscation of value of criminal proceeds to limit of actual gains

The Federal Court of Justice (5th Criminal Senate) dismissed the defendant's appeal against the Landgericht Bremen's judgment, confirming the criminal conviction while modifying the confiscation order to limit the confiscation of the value of the criminal proceeds to €8,655, thereby striking down the excess amount; the defendant bears the costs of the appeal. The case involved a criminal prosecution where the defendant challenged the scope of the confiscation of the value of the proceeds obtained through the offense. The court determined that the first-instance court had erroneously ordered confiscation in an amount exceeding the legally admissible value of the specific criminal gains, applying the principles governing the confiscation of value replacement (Wertersatz) to correct the overreach in the original judgment.