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A criminal complaint is often described either as pointless or as the answer to everything. Neither is accurate. It is a specific instrument with specific effects — worth understanding before you decide.
In short
A criminal complaint can be filed with any police station, many online police portals, or the public prosecutor. Its value to victims lies in enabling assets to be secured and in opening access to the investigation file through a lawyer. It does not order repayment and does not run to your timetable.
Where and how do I file?
In Germany a complaint can be filed at any police station regardless of where the offence occurred, through the online reporting portals (Online-Wache) most federal states operate, or directly with the public prosecutor’s office. A lawyer can also file on your behalf, which is usually preferable in complex investment cases because the framing matters.
What should the complaint contain?
The more precisely the facts are set out, the more likely the case is to be worked rather than filed away. Useful content includes:
- A chronological account: how contact came about, what was promised, what was paid and when.
- The provider’s details: company name, website, addresses, phone numbers, the names used by the people who contacted you.
- The payment routes: receiving accounts, references, card details used, wallet addresses and transaction IDs.
- The documents: contracts, correspondence, screenshots of the platform and of the displayed balance.
- The specific deception: which statements were false, and which of them caused you to pay.
That last point matters more than people expect. Fraud under § 263 StGB requires deception causing a disposition and a loss — describing precisely what you were told, and what you did because of it, is what turns a complaint into a workable case file.
What happens after filing?
The public prosecutor decides whether to open an investigation. If they do, the police gather evidence — which in these cases usually means requesting account data, tracing payment flows and, where a foreign element exists, seeking mutual legal assistance.
Three outcomes are possible:
- Charges are brought where a suspect is identified and the evidence supports it.
- The proceedings are discontinued, typically because perpetrators cannot be identified or are not reachable abroad. A discontinued case can be reopened if new information emerges; the evidence already gathered in the file remains usable.
- The case runs for a long time without a clear resolution — common where the trail crosses several jurisdictions.
Why the complaint matters even so
Two mechanisms make it valuable to injured parties regardless of whether anyone is ever convicted.
Securing assets. Public prosecutors can order confiscation and asset freezing (§§ 73 et seq. StGB, §§ 111b et seq. StPO). Where money is still identifiable, this is frequently the only realistic route to a pool that can later compensate victims — a private claimant has no equivalent power.
Access to the file. Through a lawyer, an injured party can apply for access to the investigation file under § 406e StPO. This is often decisive: the file may reveal the operating company, the individuals behind it, the receiving accounts and the onward flow of funds — information no private party could obtain alone, and precisely what a civil claim needs in order to name a defendant who actually holds assets.
What a complaint cannot do
It is not an application for repayment, and it guarantees neither an investigative success nor compensation. Where perpetrators are based abroad and accounts are held there, investigations run into practical limits. Even then the complaint keeps its value — without it there is neither an asset freeze nor file access — but a successful investigation is not something anyone can promise.
How the criminal and civil tracks fit together
The criminal proceedings produce information and can secure assets. The civil claim is what actually converts that into compensation. Running them in sequence — complaint first, file access next, civil claim informed by what the file shows — is usually more effective than pursuing a civil claim blind. The process page sets out how those steps follow each other in practice.
Next step
If you are considering a complaint, it is worth getting the framing right the first time. Describe your case through our free initial assessment — confidential, without obligation, and with an honest view of what the criminal route can and cannot achieve for you.