Preventive Advice and Criminal Defense from a Single Source

Lovre Militsch-Gumm specializes in white-collar criminal law and financial regulation. He practices in Berlin. Lovre advises, defends, and represents clients at the intersection of financial sector regulation, anti-money laundering prevention, and white-collar criminal law. His approach combines preventive advice with criminal defense. Both perspectives are closely connected in the financial sector, because the best possible outcome for clients can only be achieved by someone who masters both: regulation and criminal law.

Preventive Advice – Anti-Money Laundering Prevention, Financial Regulation, Sanctions Law

Many criminal proceedings in the financial and capital markets sector, in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, and in sanctions law do not begin with criminal intent but with regulatory errors. A licensing requirement is overlooked. Risk management is inadequate. Regulatory obligations are misjudged.

Through preventive advice from Lovre, companies and their responsible officers receive robust legal assessments of regulatory obligations, licensing requirements, and anti-money laundering requirements; before these can become relevant under criminal law.

Criminal Defense – White-Collar and Financial Crime

Where the public prosecutor's office is already investigating, fines from a supervisory authority such as BaFin are to be expected, or an indictment has already been brought, Lovre defends clients in all criminal and administrative offense proceedings. Defense practice shows that those who have in-depth knowledge of regulatory law and can argue with it achieve the best results for their clients.

Representation of Private Accessory Prosecutors – Actively Asserting Victims' Interests in Criminal Proceedings

Not every victim (whether a company or an individual) affected by a criminal offense wants to passively await the outcome of criminal proceedings. Where former employees, business partners, or third parties have caused harm through unauthorized financial services, embezzlement, breach of trust, fraud, corruption, or similar offenses, companies and individuals can actively participate in criminal proceedings as private accessory prosecutors (Nebenkläger).

Lovre supports companies and individuals in this role from start to finish: Beginning with filing the criminal complaint, through accompanying the investigative proceedings, to representation as counsel for the private accessory prosecutor at trial. The goal is the best possible protection of legal, personal and economic interests.

Regulatory Expertise

Lovre advises on German and European financial supervisory law, in particular on:

  • Anti-money laundering prevention: German Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG), EU anti-money laundering package (AMLR, AMLAR, AMLD, AMLD6, TFR), due diligence and reporting obligations, transparency register, risk management systems
  • Financial supervisory law: German Banking Act (KWG), CRR/CRD, licensing requirements and their limits, responsibility of managing directors
  • Capital markets law: German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), German Capital Investment Code (KAGB), MiFID II, Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)
  • Payment services and crypto-assets: German Payment Services Supervision Act (ZAG), MiCAR, classification of digital business models
  • Sanctions regulation: compliance with sanctions regimes, in particular those of the EU

Expertise in White-Collar and Financial Crime

In the field of white-collar and financial crime law, Lovre defends and represents clients in particular in proceedings arising at the intersection of regulatory law and criminal law. These include:

  • Provision of services without authorization: including unauthorized banking business (Section 54 KWG), unauthorized payment services (Section 63 ZAG), unauthorized operation of a capital management company (Section 339 KAGB)
  • Capital markets criminal law: insider trading and market manipulation (Sections 119 and 119a WpHG)
  • Money laundering (Section 261 German Criminal Code (StGB)) – including reckless commission and organizational responsibility
  • Fraud and investment fraud (Sections 263, 264a StGB)
  • Embezzlement and Breach of trust (Section 266 StGB), in particular for management bodies of regulated companies
  • Tax evasion (Section 370 German Fiscal Code (AO)), particularly with a financial-structuring dimension
  • Administrative offenses under the GwG, KWG, and WpHG in proceedings with relevance to fines or criminal liability

Clients

Lovre advises, defends, and represents:
• Management board members, managing directors, and compliance and anti-money laundering officers of regulated companies in assessing liability risks
• Credit institutions, financial services providers, payment institutions, and crypto companies on regulatory and anti-money laundering issues
• Companies in licensable sectors that need to clarify the limits of permissible business activity
• Individuals and companies subject to criminal or administrative offense proceedings
• Individuals and companies who, as victims, wish to actively assert their interests in criminal proceedings as private accessory prosecutors

A Symbiosis of Practical Experience and Academic Knowledge

Lovre has extensive practical experience. Even before his admission to the bar, alongside his doctorate in Berlin, he worked for many years as a research associate at FS-PP Berlin. During this time, he systematically built up his regulatory, criminal law and practical expertise and deepened it academically. This is reflected, among other things, in his successful completion of the specialist lawyer training course for banking and capital markets law.

His doctoral dissertation, currently under review, addresses one of the fundamental questions of criminal law: when can punishment be legitimate? Engaging with the legitimate limits of criminal law sharpens the critical perspective needed in practical criminal defense. At the same time, it means knowing the strongest arguments to persuade public prosecutors and criminal courts to reach solutions that are as favorable as possible for clients.