Current Developments in Cybercrime Investigations in Germany
The Role and Modus Operandi of the Bavarian Cybercrime Center in Bamberg
Cybercrime offenses have become a significant area of criminal law in recent years. Advancing digitalization and the ongoing growth of online financial markets and cryptocurrencies have created an environment in which criminals use increasingly sophisticated methods. In particular, cybertrading and organized forms of investment fraud pose complex challenges for investigative authorities. In Germany, the Bavarian Cybercrime Center (ZCB) in Bamberg coordinates a large number of these highly complex cases.
Current developments, such as the extradition of Israeli citizens to Germany or charges against software providers, have lent a new sense of urgency to these proceedings.
German Version:
Aktuelle Entwicklungen bei den Cybercrime-Ermittlungen in Deutschland
Defense Through Specialized Legal Representation in Nuremberg
Attorney Dr. Tobias Rudolph, a specialist in criminal law and tax law based in Nuremberg, focuses on the defense of clients involved in cybercrime cases. His years of experience and the proximity of Rudolph Rechtsanwälte to the special unit in Bamberg enable optimal support for clients caught up in this highly complex field of investigation.
To address the rapidly growing number of digital crime cases, the Bavarian Central Cybercrime Unit (ZCB) was established at the Bamberg Office of the General Public Prosecutor in 2015. It handles particularly challenging or extensive cybercrime proceedings throughout Bavaria, many of which have cross-border dimensions.
The ZCB primarily focuses on organized internet fraud such as cybertrading or fake investment portals, hacker attacks on companies or critical infrastructures, and money laundering offenses connected with cryptocurrencies and comparable digital assets.
Investigations often require collaboration with Eurojust, Europol, and other international partner authorities. Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) are regularly formed so multiple countries can work together to dismantle criminal networks.
A key part of the investigative work is the meticulous analysis of electronic traces—such as chat histories, server logs, cryptocurrency wallet addresses, or social media accounts—which are examined in detail.
Cybercrime proceedings span multiple legal areas, including capital market law, banking supervisory law, and data protection law. Accordingly, the ZCB brings together IT specialists and legal experts to handle these multifaceted issues. Through this specialization, the ZCB assumes a leading role in investigations into international fraud rings like the so-called “Wolf of Sofia.”
In order to handle the growing number of highly complex cybercrime proceedings effectively, a special chamber for cybercrime cases was set up at the Bamberg Regional Court in 2024. This chamber specializes in large-scale investigations involving digital evidence, international crime scenes, and numerous injured parties.
Decision from Israel Confirms Extraditions
On March 6, 2025, the Supreme Court of Israel (Case Nos.: HAS 3463/24, HAS 3478/24, HAS 3684/24, HAS 3693/24) ruled on the extradition of several Israeli nationals to Germany. These individuals are accused of systematically defrauding investors through alleged cybertrading platforms. The highest Israeli court upheld the legality of the extradition, confirming that all legal requirements—particularly the principle of dual criminality—had been satisfied.
This ruling signals the rise of increasing international cooperation in combating cybercrime. Defendants in Germany are therefore more frequently confronted with cross-border investigations that receive active support from foreign courts and law enforcement agencies.
Nevertheless, extraditions from Israel to Germany are likely to remain the exception rather than the rule. Unlike within the European Arrest Warrant framework, Israel requires a formal extradition request, which entails a considerable administrative burden and workload for German investigating authorities.
The “Wolf of Sofia” (Gal Barak) Case and Organized Investment Fraud
A particularly high-profile matter is the “Wolf of Sofia” (Gal Barak) case, which the Bavarian Cybercrime Center (ZCB) has been investigating for several years. Authorities from various national and international agencies coordinated their efforts. After initial arrests and searches in 2019 and a major “Action Day” in April 2020, charges were brought against several alleged main perpetrators. The core accusations include commercial and gang-based fraud as well as forming a criminal organization. The alleged losses amount to approximately €8.6 million for 353 victims in Germany—and over €100 million worldwide. The criminal networks involved call centers in Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Georgia.
Several accomplices have already received multi-year prison sentences. Proceedings against one of the principal suspects and others are ongoing before a commercial criminal chamber of the Munich Regional Court. Additional proceedings against leading figures of the same criminal group are pending outside Germany, including in Austria.
Investigations Against Software Operators in Austria: Tradologic
Extensive investigations are currently underway in Austria against individuals responsible for the software provider Tradologic. They are suspected of luring investors into making large deposits on fraudulent trading platforms through the use of manipulated software.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants caused substantial losses—amounting to many millions of euros—through hierarchically structured call-center operations and professionally designed websites.
However, many factual and legal questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding the liability of software providers. While certain prosecutors attempt to establish accomplice or aiding-and-abetting liability by alleging that software providers like Tradologic tailored specific functions for manipulative purposes, the legal evaluation of such claims is both complex and controversial.
Many of the disputed features align with common industry standards in the trading software sector. For instance, some features reportedly allowed investors to believe they were profiting when prices were actually falling. Yet it remains unclear whether the software itself is responsible for such psychological manipulation or whether the real fraud occurs “on the phone,” perpetrated by call-center agents.
Moreover, it is important to note that not all unregulated CFD brokers operate illegally. Distinguishing between legitimate (albeit unregulated) providers and genuinely fraudulent platforms is often a delicate task that calls for careful legal scrutiny.
Background on CFD Trading and Key Terms
A central aspect of many cybercrime investigations is the offering of so-called Contracts for Difference (CFDs). These are financial derivatives in which investors merely speculate on the price movements of certain underlying assets without owning them. Profits or losses arise solely from the difference between the purchase and sale price.
An important feature of CFDs is leverage: even a small amount of capital (margin) can be used to trade large positions, offering both the potential for significant gains and substantial losses.
The spread—the difference between the bid and ask price—represents the broker’s source of income. However, a wider spread raises transaction costs for investors. Adjusting the spread can present potential opportunities for manipulation at the expense of investors.
Swaps refer to the costs incurred for holding a position overnight, including financing charges or fees, since CFDs operate on borrowed capital.
Other financial instruments frequently encountered in cybercrime cases include:
- Binary Options: These allow investors to bet on whether the price of an asset will be above or below a predefined value at a certain time. There are only two possible outcomes: a predetermined payout or the complete loss of the stake. In the EU binary options are largely banned for retail investors.
- Forex (Foreign Exchange Market): This is the global market for trading currency pairs such as EUR/USD, where investors speculate on fluctuations in exchange rates.
- White Label Solutions: Products or services developed by one company but sold under another company’s brand identity. In the financial sector, these allow brokers to operate a trading platform under their own branding without building all the technological infrastructure themselves.
While criminal allegations abound, it is crucial to remember that not every unregulated platform operates illegally. Transparency, traceability, and genuine transactions are key to an offering’s legitimacy. By contrast, fraud is suspected where investors’ funds are neither invested nor disbursed, and purported “profits” appear arbitrarily manipulated.
Criminal Defense in the Cybercrime Arena
Defendants, investigators, and defense lawyers in cybercrime proceedings—particularly in intricate fraud cases—face several unique challenges:
- Abundance of Digital Evidence
Chat logs, log files, IP addresses, bank transactions, and even blockchain analyses must often be gathered and assessed on an international scale. - International Complexity
Multiple countries and different legal frameworks are frequently involved. In practice, requests for mutual legal assistance and disputes over jurisdiction can complicate these proceedings substantially. - Complex Legal Interfaces
Cybercrime cases simultaneously touch on capital markets law, IT law, and general criminal law.
The Rudolph Rechtsanwälte law firm in Nuremberg offers decisive advantages in mounting a strong defense. Its geographic proximity to the Bavarian Cybercrime Center in Bamberg and its years of specialization enable early file access, the development of a tailor-made defense strategy, and expert handling of technical complexities. This local presence promotes efficient communication with the responsible prosecutors and courts.
Conclusion and Outlook
Ongoing proceedings—such as the “Wolf of Sofia” case, the investigations into Tradologic in Austria, and the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision of March 6, 2025—underscore a clear trend: international cooperation in criminal prosecution continues to expand. Investigations into unregulated trading platforms now move faster and result in stricter enforcement.
Although CFD trading itself is not inherently illegal, regulatory gaps and a lack of transparency can facilitate fraudulent behavior. With the establishment of the new specialized chamber in Bamberg, the expansion of the ZCB, and more intensive cross-border collaboration, the prosecution of cybercrime is steadily intensifying.
Anyone who comes under investigation in this field is well advised to seek an early defense from lawyers who specialize in this area.
Rudolph
