German law has no legal definition of corruption. Neither the German Criminal Code (StGB) nor the Federal Government Directive concerning the Prevention of Corruption in the Federal Administration of July 30, 2004 defines the term; they merely speak of "corruption offenses". Corruption is an umbrella term for several independent offenses that are spread across three chapters of the StGB — offenses against constitutional bodies, against competition, and in public office.
A common working definition comes from the non-governmental organization Transparency International: corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private benefit or advantage. However, it does not replace an examination of the elements of an offense.
Four pairs of provisions form the core — separated into the private sector and the sphere of public officials, and into the recipient side and the giver side.
Section 335a StGB places foreign and international public servants on an equal footing with public officials for the bribery offenses (Sections 332 and 334 StGB) — an equivalence provision, not an offense in its own right. Section 108e StGB covers taking and giving bribes involving mandate holders.
Acceptance of benefits (Section 331 StGB) and taking bribes (Section 332 StGB) differ in a single element: whether the official act is in breach of duty.
Both offenses require an unlawful agreement — a link between the benefit and the performance of official duties. For Section 331 StGB, the general connection suffices: a benefit "for the performance of official duties". Section 332 StGB requires more: the benefit must be consideration for an official act in breach of duty.
Section 331 (3) StGB provides an approval option for subsection 1 — anyone who accepts a benefit they did not demand is not punishable if the competent authority approved the acceptance in advance, or if they report it without delay and the authority approves the acceptance. This option does not exist for Section 332 StGB.
The concept of a public official determines which pair of provisions applies. Section 11 (1) no. 2 StGB defines it functionally: it covers civil servants and judges, persons in another public-law official relationship, and persons who are otherwise appointed to perform public administration tasks at an authority or on its behalf. The third variant extends further than the civil service relationship; how far depends on the individual case and on case law.
Conflicts of interest and nepotism are not criminal offenses but organizational terms. Under civil service law, Section 71 Bundesbeamtengesetz provides flanking rules: civil servants may accept rewards, gifts, and other benefits "in relation to their office" only with the consent of their employing authority.
Section 130 OWiG makes it a regulatory offense if owners of a business or company fail to take the necessary supervisory measures and thereby enable a business-related contravention that would have been prevented or made significantly more difficult by proper supervision; the supervisory measures expressly include the appointment, careful selection, and monitoring of supervisory personnel. Under Section 130 (2) OWiG, the provision applies to private and public companies alike. Section 30 OWiG links the administrative fine against the legal person itself to this.
For the federal administration, awareness-raising is expressly regulated. Number 7 of the Directive requires employees "to be made aware of the risks of corruption on the occasion of the oath of office or the formal obligation and to be formally notified of the consequences of corrupt conduct"; under Number 7.1 sentence 2, the formal notification must be documented. Number 8 obliges the training and continuing professional development institutions to include the topic in their programs.
In its Federal Situation Report on Corruption for the reporting year 2024, published on October 28, 2025, the Federal Criminal Police Office reports a decline in corruption offenses compared with the previous year.
Criminal law has no value threshold above which a gift becomes punishable. What matters is the unlawful agreement, i.e., the connection between the benefit and the performance of official duties. The amount limits in circulation come from civil service law, administrative regulations, or internal guidelines and differ from one body to another.
Further reading: Corruption prevention in public administration, What is compliance?, Compliance awareness, and Proof of mandatory training.
No. Neither the German Criminal Code (StGB) nor the Federal Government Directive concerning the Prevention of Corruption defines the term. Corruption is an umbrella term for several independent criminal offenses that are spread across three chapters of the StGB — Section 108e in the 4th, Sections 298 et seq. in the 26th, and Sections 331 et seq. in the 30th chapter.
The breach of duty. Section 331 StGB covers benefits "for the performance of official duties" in general. Section 332 StGB requires that the benefit be consideration for an official act by which official duties were or would be violated. Only in the case of Section 331 (1) StGB is approval by the authority an option.
Criminal law has no value threshold. What matters is the unlawful agreement, i.e., the connection between the benefit and the performance of official duties. Specific amount limits arise, if at all, from civil service law, administrative regulations, or internal guidelines and vary from one body to another.
Section 11 (1) no. 2 StGB names civil servants and judges, persons in another public-law official relationship, and persons who are otherwise appointed to perform public administration tasks at an authority or on its behalf — regardless of the organizational form chosen. The third variant is functional and extends beyond the civil service relationship.
Because Section 130 OWiG penalizes the violation of the duty of supervision in businesses and companies and expressly names the selection and monitoring of supervisory personnel; Section 30 OWiG links the administrative fine against the legal person to this. For the federal administration, Number 7 of the Federal Government Directive expressly requires a formal notification of employees.
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