Dawn raid at your company in Germany: what to do
When investigators are at the door in the morning, the first minutes shape the next years. You must tolerate the search, but you need not make a statement, need not consent, and need not help to incriminate yourself. Ask for the search warrant, object to the seizure expressly, and call a defence lawyer at once. Calm and structure in that hour are worth more than any later explanation.
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Calm and structure,
when it counts.
The warrant, and the judge behind it.
A search of the accused is governed by section 102 of the German Code of Criminal Procedure (Strafprozessordnung, StPO); a search of third parties, for example business premises where the owner is not the accused, by section 103 StPO. As a rule the search is ordered by a judge under section 105 StPO. Only where there is imminent danger may the public prosecutor and its investigators order it themselves, and that is the narrow exception, not the convenient rule.
The search warrant is not a blank cheque. It must describe the alleged offence and the evidence sought so that the scope of the measure stays measurable and reviewable. That is exactly how you can gauge the search: what the warrant does not cover is not permitted. Your first look is therefore at the date, the alleged offence and the scope, and at what may be searched for.
The first ten minutes
Ask to be shown the warrant and note the alleged offence, the date and the scope. Call a defence lawyer at once, and if necessary ask the officer in charge to wait a short moment. Tell your staff, calmly, that no one is obliged to make a statement. Do not alter or delete anything. What is said and done in the first hour often shapes the whole proceedings.
Your rights during the search
You must tolerate the search and must not physically obstruct it. Everything else is your right. You need not say anything on the matter, and your silence may not be used against you. You need not consent to the seizure, and you need not hand over passwords or access data. Knowing these three sentences calmly is half the battle.
Seizure and your formal objection
If items are taken, object to the seizure expressly and have your objection recorded. The objection forces a judicial decision and preserves your position for later. Note what is seized, keep a list, and do not sign anything you have not understood. An express objection changes the legal footing; silent acquiescence does not.
Where cases are really fought
Much of the later defence is decided in this hour: whether the warrant was specific enough, whether the measure stayed within its scope, whether imminent danger was genuinely present. These are the points on which searches and their results are later tested. The calmer and more precise the record from the day, the stronger that ground.
One partner. From the first call to the conclusion.
From the outset you speak with the partner who actually runs your case, not with an apparatus.
A dawn raid, briefly explained.
Do we have to let the investigators in?
You must tolerate a lawful search and must not physically obstruct it. You may, and should, ask to be shown the warrant first and note its scope. Tolerating the search is not the same as consenting to seizure or making a statement.
Must we hand over passwords or unlock devices?
No. You need not hand over passwords or access data, and you need not actively help to incriminate yourself. You also need not consent to the seizure. Object to it expressly and have the objection recorded.
Should employees make statements during the raid?
No one is obliged to make a statement on the matter, and silence may not be used against them. Employees can decline to comment and wait for legal advice. What is said in the first hour often shapes the whole proceedings.
This page gives a general overview and does not replace advice on the individual case.
Related pages.
If a search has taken place, so may an internal investigation. For the wider picture, see white-collar crime defence.
Investigators at the door?
Speak directly with the partner. We are reachable at short notice and take over on the spot.
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