Employee Property Offences

German law defines five different types of property offences:

• Theft (§ 242 StGB)
• Embezzlement (§ 246 StGB)
• Robbery (§ 249 StGB)
• Extortion (§ 253 StGB)
• Criminal Damage (§ 303 StGB)

The first two types are the most common in the professional work of the Kurtz Corporate Investigation Agency Mannheim and Rhine-Neckar. Accordingly, our IHK-certified investigators are highly experienced in identifying offenders and securing court-admissible evidence in cases of theft and embezzlement: +49 621 9535 4001.

Anything That Isn’t Bolted Down …

… all too often disappears into the pockets of dishonest employees. From paperclips to laptops, from pens to flat-screen monitors—employee theft can cause severe financial losses, whether through the individual value of stolen items or the frequency of the offences. And this says nothing of data theft, which can jeopardise the success of an entire company.

Key risk areas in many businesses include storage facilities and the transport chain. Warehouse workers occasionally collude with delivery drivers to conceal the disappearance of goods and later share the proceeds from their sale.

Objective Commercial Investigations Without Conflicts of Interest

Once suspicion has been raised against one or more employees, supervisors typically lack the time, objectivity, and necessary expertise to prove the offence in a manner acceptable to the courts. Put differently: managers have more pressing duties within the company and generally do not possess sufficient knowledge of how to conduct employee surveillance within legal boundaries. Even as witnesses, they would be of limited use due to the clear conflict of interest that would exist in court.

Fortunately, affected companies can rely on the expertise, experience, and neutrality of our investigators in Mannheim: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-mannheim.de.

Solutions for Judicial and Extrajudicial Action Against Offenders

Depending on the case, our commercial investigators conduct internal or external observations, set up theft traps, examine potential accomplices and fencing routes, and—if desired—personally confront the offender using established interview and interrogation techniques.

Often, the result is a notarial acknowledgement of debt, sparing the company lengthy court proceedings, as it typically already includes a termination agreement and a repayment commitment for the damages incurred.

Toolboxes, Laptops, Company Vehicles

Field representatives and tradespeople are commonly provided with the tools and equipment required for their work. Unfortunately, many employees find it tempting to claim such items are broken or stolen in order to appropriate them for personal use. Some show no scruples in this regard. Problems also frequently arise during the termination of employment, especially when the employer ends the contract. Employees who feel unfairly dismissed may try to “retaliate” by unlawfully withholding company property. This even includes company vehicles. Others attempt to compensate for expected future income losses by stealing items while they still have the opportunity.

Even if the employee acts particularly brazenly—for example by selling the company vehicle abroad to fences without providing the vehicle documents—our renowned commercial investigation team for Karlsruhe, Bensheim and the wider Rhine-Neckar area is, in most cases, able to locate the vehicle and ensure its return. The meticulous documentation of our investigative work enables us to provide clients with court-admissible evidence upon completion of the case so that offenders can, where necessary, be prosecuted and held civilly liable. We will gladly explain our case-specific investigative options during a non-binding initial consultation. Please call our Mannheim private investigators on +49 621 9535 4001 or send us your enquiry via email using our contact form.