Die Einziehung von Vermögen unklarer Herkunft nach § 76a Abs. 4 StGB in Verbindung mit § 437 StPO

With the confiscation of assets of unclear origin in Section 76a (4) of the German Criminal Code, a whole new type of confiscation instrument was implemented in 2017. In order to overcome evidentiary problems, which typically arise in the case of serious offences from the area of organised crime and terrorism, confiscation of incriminated assets is to be permitted even if no specific offence can be proven at all. The study examines the origins of this non-conviction based confiscation measure in other legal systems, clarifies fundamental questions of interpretation and finally reviews its compatibility with criminal law, constitutional law and human rights guarantees.