In August, the German Bundestag passed a bill that is intended to punish corporate crime more severely. In the FRG, the investigating authorities cannot conduct criminal proceedings against companies, but only impose fines under the Administrative Offences Act.

Germany is one of the few countries in the world where legal entities cannot be prosecuted under criminal law. So far, corporate crime has been punished in a similar way to parking offences. Up to now, the sanctions imposed can amount to a maximum of 10 million euros, regardless of the size of the company.
The "Law for Strengthening Integrity in Business" is generally intended to lead to better prosecution of business-related crimes and stipulates that fines of up to 10% of annual turnover can now be imposed. Of course, these are all still completely ridiculous measures, as a payment of a maximum of 10% of annual turnover still represents an absolutely calculable risk.
Nevertheless: The state governments of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria, together with four other states, want to prevent this law. They fear restrictions on entrepreneurial freedom. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister of Finance of Baden-Württemberg, even claims that the sanctions would endanger the existence of small companies.
This is obviously complete nonsense. Here, the alleged concern for the petty bourgeoisie is put forward to protect the class interests of the big bourgeoisie. Hoffmeister-Kraut, for example, is a shareholder of Bizerba. This company is owned by her family and currently has an annual turnover of 675 million euros. If this company were to be proven guilty of an association offence, it would therefore have to pay a fine more than six times the maximum amount currently set.