Corruption means that someone abuses their professional position or public office to gain an advantage and harm others in the process.

Examples of corruption:

·      Accepting and giving gifts or other pecuniary advantages (including invitations to business meals/travel) of disproportionate value; 

·      Accepting and giving bribes.

Money laundering includes any activity in which criminally generated proceeds are channeled into and through the financial cycle in order to subsequently be channeled into a legal-looking activity. The money smuggled in was acquired, for example, through corruption, theft or similar criminal acts. In the end, it is no longer possible to see where the money comes from and who it actually belongs to. The money is used in normal monetary transactions. The aim is always to ensure that it remains unknown at all times that the assets are illegal.

·       Terrorist financing is the provision and collection of assets to carry out a terrorist act, even if they are only partly used to do so;

·       Other reports in connection with services and products in the investment and financial sector are also to be assigned to this category.

Data protection describes the protection against the improper processing and use of personal data (e.g. name, address, date of birth, e-mail address, IP address, account number).

The protection of confidentiality includes, in particular, the protection of confidential (company) information.

Examples of breaches of data and secrecy protection: 

·       The unlawful disclosure of trade and business secrets (including customer lists, business strategies, etc.);

·       The misuse of (personal) data;

·       The inadequate protection of access to sensitive personal or company-related data;

·       The regulations on the security of network and information systems pursue the goal of ensuring cyber security. In particular, they aim to prevent security incidents and to manage them in the best possible way in the worst case.

Environmental protection means the protection of the natural environment and the preservation of the functioning of ecosystems.

Examples of violations of environmental protection regulations:

·       Illegal waste disposal;

·       Improper handling of pollutants;

·       Water, soil or air pollution.

This refers in particular to a breach of applicable accounting standards or generally accepted accounting principles resulting in a misstatement in the company's financial reporting.

Examples of manipulation of business documents/balance sheets:

·       Improper creation or falsification of invoices, credit notes, financial statements, audit records;

·       Improper destruction of relevant business documents;

·       Tax evasion.

This includes violations that prevent the securing and maintenance of effective competition in the market. 

Examples of violations of antitrust law:

·       Illegal price fixing;

·       Sharing of customers, markets and/or territories;

·       Abuse of a dominant market position of the company.

Examples of violations of competition law:

·       Illegal agreements in the context of tenders;

·       Disparagement of competitors and their products;

·       Violations of market conduct rules (e.g. consumer protection rules).

This includes, in particular, breaches of the statutory rules for the award of contracts in the public sector. Essentially, this concerns contracts awarded by the Federal Government, the Länder or the municipalities, by public institutions and by associations from one or more contracting authorities.

Examples of violations of public procurement rules are:

·       Unequal treatment or discrimination of bidders and candidates;

·       Awarding a contract to an unsuitable company;

·       Award of a contract disregarding the award criteria.

These include, in particular, violations of regulations intended to ensure general product safety and violations of labelling obligations or rules for the marketing and use of sensitive and dangerous products.

As a rule, the general safety requirements for products are considered not to be fulfilled if the safety of the respective product cannot be guaranteed in accordance with the relevant standards.

Examples of violations in the area of product safety and conformity are:

·       Contaminated food or food whose best-before date has passed;

·       Defective products that pose hazards to customers.

This area covers infringements of safety requirements in road transport, railways, civil aviation and maritime transport. Non-compliance with the provisions on the transport of dangerous goods also constitutes such an infringement.

Examples of infringements in the area of transport safety are:

·       Lack of safety of infrastructure projects;

·       Inadequate safety management in rail infrastructure;

·       Failure to provide or insufficient provision of necessary evidence to ensure the level of safety.

This includes, in particular, breaches of safety standards that serve to protect the health of the public against the dangers of ionising radiation and generally ensure protection with regard to radioactive substances. 

Examples of violations in the area of radiation protection and nuclear safety are:

·       Unsafe disposal of radioactive waste;

·       Inadequate supervision and control of the transport of radioactive waste or spent fuel elements.

Covers violations of standards for (animal) products intended for human consumption and regulations designed to ensure the welfare of animals in general.

Examples of non-compliances in the area of food and feed safety, animal health and animal welfare are:

·       Non-compliance with hygiene rules;

·       Contamination of feed;

·       Failure to keep animals in a manner appropriate to their species;

·       Lack of protection during transport of animals, e.g. due to too long distances or a too high number of transported animals.

Covers violations of quality and safety standards for medicinal products and medical devices, for the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products.

Examples of violations of measures to protect public health:

·       Sale of unauthorised products under this category;

·       Non-compliance with legal limits.

Typical consumer rights are the right of withdrawal and the right to information. Business practices and behaviour that disadvantage consumers are covered.

Examples of breaches of consumer protection rules are:

·       Failure to comply with information obligations;

·       Unannounced advertising calls (so-called "cold calling");

·       Disadvantageous clauses in general terms and conditions.