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Terrorist financing; implementation of supervision

The Act on the Tracing of Profits from Serious Crimes prescribes security measures and duties of care for the execution of certain activities. The law prescribes security measures and due diligence obligations for the performance of certain activities. This is intended to prevent the misuse of the economy for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing.

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Procedure details

The Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), which was originally specifically designed to combat organized crime, was expanded in the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York on 11 September 2001 in order to counter the threat of international terrorism.

What is terrorist financing and how can it be recognized?

A legal definition of terrorist financing is provided in Section 1 (2) of the German Act on the Tracing of Profits from Serious Crimes (Money Laundering Act - GwG):

"Terrorist financing within the meaning of this Act is

  1. the provision or collection of assets with the knowledge or with the intention that these assets will be used or are intended to be used, in whole or in part, to commit one or more of the following criminal offenses:
    • an offense under Section 129a of the Criminal Code, also in conjunction with Section 129b of the Criminal Code, or
    • another of the offenses described in Articles 3, 5 to 10 and 12 of Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on combating terrorism and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA and amending Council Decision 2005/671/JHA (OJ L 88, 31.03.2017, p. 6),
  2. the commission of an offense pursuant to Section 89c of the Criminal Code or
  3. inciting or aiding and abetting an offense referred to in number 1 or 2."

The European Union has set up its own website on the subject of combating the financing of terrorism. The website also contains a tool for identifying persons, groups and organizations that are subject to a comprehensive prohibition of disposal due to a sanction (see "Related links"). If a sanctioned person, group or organization is involved in a transaction offered to you, this will generally trigger compliance with the general due diligence obligations under Section 10 (3) No. 3 GwG and the filing of a suspicious activity report under Section 43 (1) No. 2 GwG (see "Money laundering; filing a suspicious activity report" under "Related topics"). The following indicators, among others, may point to possible terrorist financing:

  • Hits in "terror list": The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) has issued an "Information sheet on country-independent embargo measures to combat terrorism", which contains recommendations for action when dealing with sanctions lists as well as other informative notes. The sanctions lists (national, EU or UN) are freely accessible on the Internet (see: further links)
  • Conspicuous change in character of the customer (e.g. change of clothing - away from Western European outfit;
  • transactions always below threshold amounts and in cash;
  • conspicuous avoidance of personal contact with the customer;
  • frequent presentation of conspicuously new identification documents;
  • refrain from the transaction if further information is required;
  • Indications of support for persons/groups that are to be regarded as fundamentalist/extremist (e.g. in constitutional protection reports);

For further information on this topic, see "Related links "Further information on this topic can be found under "Money laundering; implementation of supervision" and "Money laundering; filing a suspicious activity report" under "Related topics".

Competent supervisory authority for

  • Financial undertakings (Section 2 para. 1 no. 6 GwG in conjunction with Section 1 para. 24 sentence 1 GwG)
  • Insurance intermediaries (Section 2 (1) No. 8 GwG)
  • Non-chambered legal advisors and registered persons pursuant to Section 10 of the Legal Services Act (Section 2 (1) No. 11 GwG)
  • Service providers for companies and trusts or trustees (Section 2 para. 1 no. 13 GwG)
  • Real estate agents (§ 2 para. 1 no. 14 GwG)
  • Goods dealers and art brokers (Section 2 (1) No. 16 GwG)

is the government of Middle Franconia for the administrative districts of Upper, Lower and Middle Franconia, Swabia and Upper Palatinate and the government of Lower Bavaria for the administrative districts of Upper and Lower Bavaria (Section 50 No. 9 GwG in conjunction with Section 8a of the Zuständigkeitsverordnung - ZustV).

The supervisory authorities may charge costs (see Annex to the List of Costs, No. 2.II.3) to cover administrative expenses (Section 51 (4) AMLA).

Status: 26.05.2025
Editorial responsibility Bayerisches Staatsministerium des Innern, für Sport und Integration
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