The Bundestag approved a reform of the customs service on 12 November 2026, intended to give the agency more tools to combat financial crime and Money laundering and money laundering. Key measures include reorganising the customs administration and introducing a procedure for dealing with assets of uncertain origin. The bill was backed by the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition groups, as well as the AfD. The Left voted against it, while the Greens abstained.
The federal cabinet had approved the draft on 12 August 2026. The Finance Committee amended it before the parliamentary vote. The Bundestag’s approval does not mean the new powers are already in force; the remaining legislative process and promulgation are decisive.
According to the federal government, Customs Service customs is to be able to seize assets more easily where there are reasonable doubts about their lawful origin. According to the Bundestag, the new procedure will apply in particular to assets worth more than €100,000. It is also intended to apply where there is not yet an initial suspicion of a criminal offence. Following an amendment by the committee, a panel of judges, rather than a single judge, will decide on confiscation through the fiscal courts.
The government argues that it is often easier for the owners of substantial assets to explain their origin than for the state to prove it. The distinction from criminal law was also discussed at a hearing of the Finance Committee on 2 November 2026. The German Customs and Finance Trade Union welcomed a measure targeting concealed asset structures, but warned against forced staff transfers resulting from the reorganisation.
The reform also has wide-ranging organisational implications. The Directorate General of Customs is to be reorganised into the specialist areas of customs duties and taxes, and security and enforcement. Customs Criminal Investigation Office and the Central Office for Sanctions Enforcement are to be incorporated into the General Customs Directorate. At local level, main customs offices and customs investigation offices are to be merged into customs directorates. Specialist units are to handle complex international money-laundering cases.
The government also cites new technical capabilities, including the use of artificial intelligence to compare biometric data and the use of drones. Data-sharing between the federal and state governments, as well as the work of the Financial Intelligence Unit based at customs, are also to be strengthened.
In the Finance Committee, the Greens criticised the continued fragmentation of responsibilities in the non-financial sector, saying that internationally complex asset structures and fraud cases could still go untouched. The Left criticised, among other things, the proposed access by customs to the Central Register of Foreigners. Both groups had submitted their own motions on combating financial crime, which the Bundestag rejected.
The reform is part of a wider government initiative against organised crime. Whether the new tools actually make investigations easier will also depend on how the authorities put the new responsibilities and information-sharing arrangements into practice.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).