Case Explained: Germany to Modernize Law Enforcement with AI to Fight Organized Crime | Ukraine news – Legal Perspective

Berlin, February 25. Germany plans to modernize its core law enforcement structures and bring artificial intelligence into the fight against organized crime, focusing on financial offenses, money laundering, and drug-related cases, according to the ministries of Finance, the Interior, and Justice.

The ministries seek to upgrade the customs service and the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) among other agencies, expanding their legal and technical capabilities and increasing staff.

According to the BKA, organized crime remains one of the main threats to internal security: in 2024 it caused economic damage of more than €2.64 billion.

“We make sure investigators hit criminals where it hurts them most: in their money.”

The plan calls for accelerating asset seizure derived from dubious sources – cash, luxury cars, and houses.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said that the BKA will receive more personnel, powers, and enforcement tools. A joint data-processing center is also being developed, along with interagency investigative teams between customs and the BKA to combat money laundering and drugs.

Although local police carry out routine patrols and the majority of investigations in accordance with the laws of each of the 16 federal states, the federal police are responsible for border protection, transportation, and aviation security.

The BKA acts as Germany’s federal investigative agency, handling cases of serious and organized crime at national and cross-border levels, often coordinating complex cases that cross state or international borders.

Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig noted that organized crime undermines trust in the rule of law and should not have the means to buy its way out, adding that those responsible should be quickly identified, brought to account, and punished.

According to the BKA for 2024, illegal drug trafficking accounted for 40% of organized crime cases – 259 of 650 cases, while money laundering was involved in 146 cases; the total amount was about €230 million.

Context and possible security implications

The initiative reflects Berlin’s strategic direction toward strengthening the fight against financial schemes that fuel crime at national and international levels, using new technologies and closer interagency cooperation.