Confiscation of criminal proceeds: statutory limits and discretionary abatement of 500 EUR within total 3,500 EUR recovery order

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) partially granted the defendant's revision, modifying the Cologne Regional Court's judgment of December 12, 2022, to disregard the confiscation of 500 EUR and reduce the total confiscation of proceeds from criminal acts to 3,500 EUR, while rejecting the remainder of the appeal and placing the costs on the defendant. The dispute concerned the scope of asset confiscation under German criminal law, specifically challenging the lower court's determination regarding the value of proceeds derived from the underlying offense. The decisive legal basis for the partial reversal was the discretionary power to refrain from confiscation and the specific statutory limits on the recovery of value obtained from criminal conduct, as applied by the Second Criminal Senate.