Expertise, Publications & References | Buchert Jacob Peter

Criminal Defence · Corporate Defence · Internal Investigations · Compliance

Verifiable experience rather than generic claims: Buchert Jacob Peter combines many years of courtroom criminal defence with corporate defence, internal investigations, criminal-law compliance advice and work as external legal ombudspersons. This page brings together selected anonymised case experience, publicly documented appointments, specialist publications, academic affiliations and professional qualifications. ExperienceCriminal DefenceCorporate DefenceInternal InvestigationsPublic ReferencesQualificationsPublicationsContact

Experience in Figures

Our firm specialises in criminal law and represents private individuals, managing directors, board members, corporate officers and businesses throughout Germany. Our principal areas of practice include white-collar criminal defence, criminal tax law, corporate defence and internal investigations.

25+ years Experience in criminal law, white-collar proceedings, compliance and ombudsperson appointments.

Several thousand Combined days of criminal court hearings, particularly in white-collar and criminal tax cases.

70+ Appointments as legal ombudspersons or trusted external counsel for companies and organisations.

Meet our attorneys and affiliated experts

Confidentiality and Legal Professional Secrecy

Criminal defence, corporate defence and internal investigations regularly involve highly sensitive information. Accordingly, we generally do not identify clients from these areas by name.

The matters described below have been deliberately anonymised and, in some instances, further generalised. Identifying information, including names, specific courts, file references, alleged offence periods, precise financial losses and distinctive case details, has been omitted.

Companies and organisations are named only where the relevant professional engagement has been publicly disclosed by the organisation itself, particularly in relation to external ombudspersons and trusted legal counsel.

Selected Anonymised Criminal Defence Experience

The following examples illustrate different aspects of our criminal defence practice. They represent an anonymised selection of demanding proceedings, not an exhaustive case list. Individual outcomes depend on the particular circumstances of each case. Criminal Tax Law · Section 266a StGB

Undeclared Wages, Sham Invoices and Social Security Contributions

Defence of a business owner in extensive criminal proceedings involving allegations of withholding social security contributions, tax evasion and other financial offences. The investigation focused on alleged undeclared wage payments and invoices issued by subcontractors which, according to the authorities, were not supported by corresponding services.

Despite substantial alleged tax and social security losses, the defendant received a custodial sentence of significantly less than two years, suspended in full.

Criminal tax law Employment-related criminal law (German) Discontinuance under Section 153a StPO

Extensive Criminal Investigation Concluded Without Indictment

Defence of a business owner investigated for tax evasion and withholding social security contributions. The authorities alleged substantial financial losses, basing their calculations in part on purported sham invoices and employment relationships that had allegedly not been properly reported or accounted for.

The proceedings were discontinued under Section 153a of the German Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO), without public charges being brought.

Tax evasion defence Discontinuance of proceedings (German) Insolvency Criminal Law · Corporate Management

Defence of a Managing Director

Defence of a managing director in substantial white-collar criminal proceedings involving, among other allegations, delayed filing for insolvency, bankruptcy offences and a property-related offence.

Despite multiple charges, the custodial sentence imposed was suspended in full.

White-collar crime defence Insolvency criminal law (German) Money Laundering · Multi-Defendant Proceedings

Individual Defence in a Multi-Defendant Case

Defence of a co-defendant in extensive money-laundering proceedings. The client was accused of making a bank account available to receive and forward funds allegedly derived from criminal activity.

The proceedings ended, for this client, with a custodial sentence suspended in full.

White-collar criminal defence Money laundering defence (German) Capital Markets · Investment Funds

Complex Investment Fund and Securities Proceedings

Defence in long-running white-collar criminal proceedings concerning capital markets and investment funds. Issues included the use of investors’ funds, corporate-law responsibilities, allegations of breach of trust, tax questions and extensive confiscation orders.

The case required unusually complex evidential proceedings before a specialist criminal chamber for economic offences, involving more than 40 trial days and more than 200 evidentiary motions.

White-collar crime defence Capital markets criminal law (German) Criminal Tax Law · VAT Fraud · Cross-Border Proceedings

Major VAT Carousel and Margin Scheme Fraud Proceedings

Defence in multiple large-scale criminal tax investigations and prosecutions involving alleged VAT carousel fraud, fraudulent application of the VAT margin scheme and other forms of organised VAT evasion. The individual proceedings involved alleged tax losses in the tens of millions of euros.

These exceptionally complex cases have involved cross-border transaction chains, international investigative cooperation and extradition-related arrest warrants in several European jurisdictions. Our defence work has included challenging the attribution of individual responsibility, reconstructing commercial and financial transactions, examining the calculation of alleged tax losses and addressing detention and extradition issues.

Some of these proceedings remain ongoing. Others have been concluded with comparatively lenient custodial sentences, considering the scale and complexity of the allegations.

Criminal tax defence VAT carousel fraud VAT evasion

Banking · Securities Services · Cum-Ex · Corporate and Individual Criminal Defence

Ongoing Cum-Ex Advice, Corporate Defence and Individual Criminal Representation

Ongoing criminal-law advice and corporate defence of a major German securities services and transaction bank.

The engagement includes continuous advice on complex Cum-Ex-related criminal tax proceedings and representation of the bank in multiple extensive investigations and court proceedings. Particular emphasis is placed on the institution’s procedural position as a corporate participant, the assessment of potential corporate liability, capital-market transaction structures, confiscation and asset recovery, and the distinction between corporate responsibility and the conduct of individual persons.

In addition, we provide individual criminal defence for several natural persons involved in Cum-Ex (also Cum-Cum) proceedings. A particular focus lies on the complex questions of criminal intent (mens rea), including each individual’s knowledge of the underlying transaction structures, the subjective elements of the alleged offences, and the attribution of individual responsibility within complex, multi-party capital-market transactions.

The work combines long-term strategic advice with active corporate and individual criminal defence throughout the investigative and judicial stages of ongoing proceedings.

Cum-Ex and Cum-Cum Criminal Defence White-Collar Crime and Corporate Defence Cum-Ex and Criminal Tax Law

Corporate Organisational and Supervisory Responsibilities

Defence of an internationally active company in ongoing proceedings involving alleged failures of organisation and supervision.

Key issues include the requirements for corporate liability under Sections 30 and 130 of the German Act on Regulatory Offences (OWiG), the scope of managerial supervisory duties, existing compliance and control arrangements, and the allocation of responsibility when external service providers are engaged.

White-collar crime defence Corporate criminal-law advice (German)

Selected Internal Investigations Experience

Buchert Jacob Peter conducts and supports internal investigations from the initial assessment of a whistleblower report through investigation planning, document and data analysis, employee interviews, criminal-law assessment and final reporting.

Particular attention is paid to the interface between internal fact-finding and any subsequent defence of the company or the individuals concerned.

Whistleblower Report

Internal Investigation Following an Anonymous Report

Comprehensive internal investigation for an internationally active company following an anonymous whistleblower report. The allegations concerned possible financial misconduct, corruption and compliance breaches.

The investigation involved structured examination of extensive documentation and numerous employee interviews. Each allegation was examined impartially against the available evidence and assessed individually.

Cross-Border Investigation

International Internal Investigation

Leadership of a cross-border internal investigation for an international corporate group. The matters examined included potential financial and corruption offences and breaches of internal compliance requirements in connection with a major overseas project.

The investigation involved extensive documentary and invoice analysis as well as employee interviews at several international locations. Internal Investigation · Parallel Criminal Proceedings

Internal Investigation Alongside Government Investigations

Advice and internal fact-finding for an organisation while criminal investigations by public authorities were under way.

A central issue was coordinating internal investigative measures with the official criminal proceedings. Evidence preservation, document review, potential interviews and defence interests had to be aligned without prejudicing the organisation’s procedural position.

Workplace Investigation

Investigation of Alleged Personal Misconduct

Internal investigation following reports of possible misconduct by employees and managers. The allegations included inappropriate workplace behaviour and related compliance and management concerns.

Numerous personal interviews were conducted and available communications reviewed. Individual allegations were assessed separately and on the basis of the evidence.

Internal investigations: planning, evidence, interviews and reporting

Publicly Documented Ombudsperson and Trusted Counsel Appointments

The firm acts as an external legal ombudsperson or trusted counsel for more than 70 companies and organisations. Many clients publicly disclose these appointments on their own websites. Unlike confidential defence mandates, these examples can therefore be independently verified.

Deka Group / DekaBank

Dr. Rainer Buchert is identified as a trusted external lawyer and whistleblowing contact; Dr. Caroline Jacob acts as his deputy.

Source: Deka Group

DZ BANK

DZ BANK identifies Buchert Jacob Peter as its external ombudsperson office and names Dr. Rainer Buchert and Dr. Caroline Jacob as contacts.

Source: DZ BANK

Union Investment

Union Investment names the firm as an external ombudsperson contact and identifies Dr. Rainer Buchert and Dr. Caroline Jacob individually.

Source: Union Investment

Heraeus

Heraeus identifies Dr. Rainer Buchert as an external ombudsman within its group compliance and whistleblowing arrangements.

Source: Heraeus

SPIE Germany Switzerland Austria

SPIE has appointed an external lawyer as ombudsperson and publicly names Dr. Rainer Buchert for this role.

Source: SPIE

World Vision Germany

World Vision names Dr. Caroline Jacob as its ombudsperson, with Dr. Rainer Buchert acting as her deputy.

Source: World Vision Germany

SWISS

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) names Dr. Rainer Buchert as external ombudsman in its compliance and whistleblowing system.

Source: SWISS

GLS Group

GLS Group identifies Dr. Rainer Buchert as an external legal ombudsman for confidential reports of criminal conduct and similarly serious violations.

Source: GLS Group

Our ombudsperson services Dedicated ombudsperson website

Professional Qualifications of the Partners

Our legal work combines criminal-law specialisation and additional professional qualifications with law-enforcement experience, corporate practice and academic scholarship. Partner · Criminal Defence · Corporate Advice

Dr. Caroline Jacob

German-certified Specialist Lawyer for Criminal Law (Fachanwältin für Strafrecht), with more than 20 years of criminal-law experience and a doctorate in white-collar criminal law.

• Certified Defence Counsel in White-Collar Criminal Law (DSV)
• Certified Defence Counsel in Criminal Tax Law (DSV)
• Certified Accounting Specialist
• Certified Data Protection Officer
• Corporate defence, internal investigations, compliance and ombudsperson appointments

Profile: Dr. Caroline Jacob Partner · Criminal Defence · Criminal Tax Law

Frank M. Peter

German-certified Specialist Lawyer for Criminal Law (Fachanwalt für Strafrecht), with more than 15 years of experience as a criminal defence lawyer; a partner at Buchert Jacob Peter since 2021.

• Advanced university studies in criminal tax law
• Certified Defence Counsel in White-Collar Criminal Law (DSV)
• Certified Adviser in Criminal Tax Law (DAA)
• Certified Accounting Specialist
• Certified Data Protection Officer

Profile: Frank M. Peter Founding Partner · Former Chief of Police

Dr. Rainer Buchert

Lawyer and former Chief of Police (Polizeipräsident a. D.); practising as a lawyer in Frankfurt am Main since 1999 and founder of the firm.

• Former senior positions at Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), most recently as Criminal Director
• Former State Director of Criminal Investigation and Head of Criminal Police in Saxony-Anhalt
• Former Chief of Police for the city and district of Offenbach am Main
• White-collar crime, compliance, ombudspersons and whistleblowing systems
• Lecturer at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management

Our attorneys (English) Full profile (German)

Academic Affiliations and Additional Professional Experience

Of Counsel · Academic Scholarship

Prof. Dr. Frank Peter Schuster

Holder of the Chair of International Criminal Law at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg. His teaching qualifications encompass German, European and international criminal law and criminal procedure, including white-collar and criminal tax law.

His areas of expertise include international criminal law, economic crime, expert legal opinions and criminal appeals on points of law (Revisionen).

Our attorneys and Of Counsel (English) Full profile (German)

Specialist Publications and Academic Writing

Members of the firm publish on white-collar criminal law, criminal tax law, criminal procedure, internal investigations, whistleblowing systems and compliance.

For accurate bibliographic identification, original German publication titles are retained, followed by English translations. Where available, original publications are linked directly as PDF documents.

Frank M. Peter — White-Collar, Tax, Capital Markets and Insolvency Criminal Law

1. Berechnungsgrundlagen bei Schwarzlohnzahlungen – was ist das geringere Übel? (Calculating Undeclared Wages: Which Approach Is the Lesser Evil?) Praxis Steuerstrafrecht (PStR), 11/2025.
2. Zur Entpflichtung eines Pflichtverteidigers (On the Discharge of Court-Appointed Defence Counsel) Comment on AG Frankfurt am Main, 13 March 2019; Strafverteidiger Forum (StraFo), 9/2019.
3. Zur Feststellung des Irrtums bei Massenbetrugsfällen (Establishing Mistake in Mass-Fraud Cases) Note on BGH, 16 August 2018, 5 StR 348/18; Strafverteidiger Forum (StraFo), 5/2019.
4. Das Kompensationsverbot im Wandel der Zeit (The Prohibition on Offsetting in Criminal Tax Law: Developments Over Time) Note on BGH, 13 September 2018, 1 StR 642/17; Betriebs-Berater (BB), 6/2019.
5. Keine Steuerhinterziehung durch Unterlassen bei Kenntnis der Finanzbehörden (No Tax Evasion by Omission Where the Tax Authorities Are Aware of the Facts) Der Steuerberater (StB), 1+2/2018; co-authored with Thorsten Franke-Roericht, LL.M.
6. Handwerkliche Fehler in Durchsuchungsbeschlüssen sowie andere Irrungen und Wirrungen in Steuer-CD-Fällen (I) (Technical Defects in Search Warrants and Other Problems in Tax Data CD Cases, Part I) Der Steuerberater (StB), 7+8/2017; co-authored with Thorsten Franke-Roericht, LL.M.
7. Der Steuerberater als Strafverteidiger (The Tax Adviser as Criminal Defence Counsel) Note on OLG Hamm, 2 August 2016, 4 RVs 78/16; Der Steuerberater (StB), 4/2017.
8. Restschuldbefreiung: Steuerverbindlichkeiten in der Verbraucherinsolvenz (Discharge of Residual Debt: Tax Liabilities in Consumer Insolvency) Praxis Steuerstrafrecht (PStR), 03/2017.
9. Zu spät – oder strafbar? Ein Urteil klärt Risiken bei der Steuererklärung (Too Late — or Criminal? A Judgment Clarifies Risks Associated with Tax Returns) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Business / Law and Taxes, 1 November 2017; co-authored with Thorsten Franke-Roericht, LL.M.
10. Steuerstrafverfahren: Die möglichen berufsrechtlichen Folgen sind bei der Strafzumessung zu berücksichtigen (Criminal Tax Proceedings: Potential Professional Disciplinary Consequences Must Be Considered in Sentencing) Praxis Steuerstrafrecht (PStR), 12/2016.
11. Steuerhinterziehung bei Reverse-Charge-Umsätzen? (Tax Evasion in Reverse-Charge Transactions?) Praxis Steuerstrafrecht (PStR), 10/2016; co-authored with Dipl.-iur. Trinks.

Frank M. Peter — Professional Profile

Dr. Rainer Buchert — Whistleblowing Systems, Ombudspersons and Compliance

1. DSGVO-Auskunftsansprüche contra Hinweisgeberschutz (GDPR Rights of Access versus Whistleblower Protection) Commentary on LAG Baden-Württemberg, judgment of 20 December 2018, 17 Sa 11/18; ZWH 2019, pp. 375–376; co-authored with Prof. Dr. Christoph Buchert.
2. Das Gesetz zum Schutz von Geschäftsgeheimnissen – auch ein Schutz für Whistleblower? (The Trade Secrets Protection Act — Protection for Whistleblowers Too?) ZWH 2018, pp. 309–316; co-authored with Prof. Dr. Christoph Buchert.
3. Privilegien anwaltlicher Ombudspersonen im Strafverfahren (Procedural Privileges of Lawyer Ombudspersons in Criminal Proceedings) Note on LG Bochum, decision of 16 March 2016, II-6 Qs 1/16; Strafverteidiger (StV), 03/2017, pp. 204–209; co-authored with Prof. Dr. Christoph Buchert.
4. Hinweisgebersysteme – Insbesondere die externe Ombudsperson als Instrument zur Bekämpfung von Wirtschaftskriminalität (Whistleblowing Systems: The External Ombudsperson as a Means of Combating Economic Crime) In Fraud Management – der Mensch als Schlüsselfaktor gegen Wirtschaftskriminalität, Frankfurt School Verlag, 2012.
5. Review of Hinweisgebersysteme – Implementierung im Unternehmen (Whistleblowing Systems: Implementation Within Companies) Corporate Compliance Zeitschrift (CCZ), 2012, pp. VI–VII.
6. Hinweisgebersysteme des Unternehmens (Corporate Whistleblowing Systems) In Internal Investigations – Ermittlungen im Unternehmen, C.F. Müller, 2013.
7. Internal Investigations: Ermittlungen im Unternehmen (Internal Investigations: Investigations Within Companies) First edition 2013 and second edition 2016, C.F. Müller.
8. Zusammenarbeit mit Ombudspersonen und Whistleblower-Systeme (Working with Ombudspersons and Whistleblowing Systems) In Der Compliance-Officer, C.H. Beck, 2015.
9. Ombudsmann und Hotline (Ombudsman and Hotline) In Corporate Compliance – Handbuch der Haftungsvermeidung im Unternehmen, C.H. Beck.

Dr. Rainer Buchert — Complete Publication List (German)

Dr. Caroline Jacob — Internal Investigations and Whistleblowing Systems

1. Internal Investigations: Ermittlungen im Unternehmen (Internal Investigations: Investigations Within Companies) First edition, C.F. Müller, 2013.
2. Review of Hinweisgebersysteme – Implementierung im Unternehmen (Whistleblowing Systems: Implementation Within Companies) Corporate Compliance Zeitschrift (CCZ), 2012, pp. VI–VII.
3. Internal Investigations: Ermittlungen im Unternehmen (Internal Investigations: Investigations Within Companies) Second edition, C.F. Müller, 2016.

Dr. Caroline Jacob — Professional Profile

Awards and External Recognition

Selected external recommendations supplement the professional profiles of the firm and its partners.

2021 — FOCUS TOP Lawyer, Criminal Law Frank M. Peter was recommended as a TOP lawyer in the field of criminal law in 2021.

2020 — FOCUS TOP Lawyer, Criminal Law Frank M. Peter was recommended as a TOP lawyer in the field of criminal law in 2020.

Further Areas of Expertise

Criminal Defence

White-collar criminal law Criminal tax law and tax evasion defence Cum-Ex and Cum-Cum defence VAT carousel fraud Capital markets criminal law (German) Insolvency-related criminal law (German)

Corporate Defence, Compliance and Investigations

Corporate defence (German) Corporate criminal-law advice (German) Internal investigations Ombudspersons and trusted counsel Criminal defence practice areas

White-Collar and Criminal Tax Defence, Corporate Defence & Internal Investigations

Buchert Jacob Peter advises and defends businesses, managing directors, board members, executives, entrepreneurs and private individuals throughout Germany. We assist in urgent investigations and crisis situations as well as with preventive corporate criminal-law advice and internal investigations.

Buchert Jacob Peter Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB
Kaiserstraße 22 · 60311 Frankfurt am Main · Germany
Phone: +49 69 710 33 330
Email: kanzlei@dr-buchert.de Contact Our Firm Meet Our Legal Team