Sufficiency of evidentiary basis for credibility finding regarding repayment agreement in criminal sentencing

The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH), 5th Criminal Senate, dismissed the appeals of the defendants as unfounded, leaving the lower court's conviction and sentence in force, and ordered each appellant to bear their own procedural costs and the necessary expenses incurred by the joint plaintiffs. The dispute concerned a criminal conviction by the Landgericht Lübeck, with the defendants challenging the admissibility and sufficiency of the factual findings, specifically regarding a repayment agreement central to the alleged offense. The appellate court affirmed the decision, finding no legal error to the disadvantage of the defendants; notably, the Senate confirmed that the trial court had adequately substantiated the content of the repayment agreement by establishing the credibility of the joint plaintiffs' statements regarding the entire sequence of events, thereby meeting the evidentiary standard required for a valid conviction.