Who was sanctioned, and for what?

Both companies continued to use e-mail addresses and telephone numbers from online purchases for advertising, although data subjects had objected – in some cases after deletion had been confirmed. The Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (Eidgenössischer Datenschutz- und Öffentlichkeitsbeauftragter, EDÖB) ordered the processing for advertising to cease and the data to be deleted on request.

Authority / court

Eidgenössischer Datenschutz- und Öffentlichkeitsbeauftragter (EDÖB)

Area of law

Data protection · Marketing and consent

Legal basis

DSG Art. 6, Art. 30 Abs. 2 lit. b, Art. 31

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Published

26 Jun 2026

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

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The Arnsberg regional government (Bezirksregierung Arnsberg), as anti-money laundering supervisor for the non-financial sector, imposed a fine of 379,503.50 EUR, final since 16 December 2025, on the furniture retailer as a dealer in goods for breach of due diligence obligations under the German Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz, GwG). Karl-Ernst Hardeck is named as the person responsible for the company.

Authority / court

Bezirksregierung Arnsberg (Geldwäscheaufsicht Nichtfinanzsektor)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Geldwäschegesetz (Sorgfaltspflichten); Bekanntmachung nach § 57 GwG

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Liability of senior managers

The announcement names Karl-Ernst Hardeck as the person responsible for the infringement

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

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A food discounter advertised a coffee with a price reduction without stating the lowest total price of the previous 30 days unambiguously, clearly recognisably and legibly. In an action brought by the Wettbewerbszentrale (Centre for Protection against Unfair Competition), the BGH upheld the injunction issued by the lower courts (Regional Court of Amberg, Higher Regional Court of Nuremberg).

Authority / court

Bundesgerichtshof (I. Zivilsenat), Az. I ZR 183/24

Area of law

Consumer protection and online retail · Misleading advertising and pricing

Legal basis

§ 11 Abs. 1 PAngV; § 5a Abs. 1, § 5b Abs. 4 UWG

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Published

9 Oct 2025

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

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A retail company (name not published) had advertising letters sent via service providers and, in several cases, failed for an extended period to respond in time to the data subject rights that recipients then asserted. The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HmbBfDI) imposed a fine of 195,000 EUR; the measure was published in the interim report of 30 September 2025 (exact date of the decision not stated).

Authority / court

Hamburgischer Beauftragter für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (HmbBfDI)

Area of law

Data protection · Data subject rights and transparency

Legal basis

DSGVO (Betroffenenrechte)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Published

30 Sep 2025

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

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The Saxony State Directorate (Landesdirektion Sachsen), as anti-money laundering supervisor for the non-financial sector, imposed a fine of 7,000 EUR on an art dealer, announced in anonymised form, for breaches of the due diligence obligations and risk management requirements under the German Money Laundering Act (GwG). The authority had previously issued several orders on risk management in the art trade, backed by the threat of penalty payments.

Authority / court

Landesdirektion Sachsen (Geldwäscheaufsicht Nichtfinanzsektor)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Geldwäschegesetz (Sorgfaltspflichten, Risikomanagement); Bekanntmachung nach § 57 GwG

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

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Since at least 2015, Sennheiser coordinated consumer prices for premium headphones with dealers, monitored them using price comparison services and specialist software and intervened when prices were too low; Sonova continued this after acquiring the business unit in March 2022 until September 2022. The employees had received competition law training but used this knowledge to conceal their conduct (code language). The Bundeskartellamt imposed fines of almost 6 million EUR on both companies and three responsible employees (settlement).

Authority / court

Bundeskartellamt

Area of law

Competition law · Cartels and collusion

Legal basis

§ 1 GWB (vertikale Preisbindung)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Mitigating circumstances

Extensive cooperation and settlement

Liability of senior managers

Fines imposed on three responsible employees (not named)

Published

7 May 2025

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

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A food retail group anonymised in the decision (R*) had, through its subsidiary, implemented a notifiable concentration without merger control clearance by means of a long-term lease of store space in a shopping centre (1 July 2018 to 20 September 2022). The Cartel Court (Kartellgericht) imposed a fine of 1.5 million EUR; Austria's Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) upheld the appeals of the Federal Competition Authority (Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde, BWB) and the Federal Cartel Prosecutor (Bundeskartellanwalt) and set the fine at 70 million EUR, taking into account the group turnover of 92.3 billion EUR and an earlier fine for prohibited implementation.

Authority / court

Oberster Gerichtshof als Kartellobergericht (Antrag der Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde)

Area of law

Competition law · Merger control

Legal basis

§ 29 Z 1 lit a iVm § 17 Abs 1 KartG 2005

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Repeat case

yes

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

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In 2022, a retail company (name pseudonymised) used nine cameras in one branch to film, among other things, the self-service checkouts including the keypad of the card payment terminal, as well as public areas, bus stops and neighbouring properties. The Austrian data protection authority (Datenschutzbehörde, DSB) imposed 1.5 million EUR for lack of a legal basis and infringement of data minimisation; the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht, BVwG) confirmed the amount on 25 July 2025, and an appeal on points of law is pending.

Authority / court

Datenschutzbehörde (DSB)

Area of law

Data protection · Video surveillance

Legal basis

Art. 5 Abs. 1 lit. a und c, Art. 6 Abs. 1 DSGVO

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

under appeal

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

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From January 2020 to May 2023, a 59-year-old German-Russian supplied more than 120,000 electronic components in 54 instances to Russian arms manufacturers, including for the Orlan 10 reconnaissance drone, and after February 2022 named sham recipients in Hong Kong and Kyrgyzstan. The 7th Criminal Division of the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart, Ref. 7 St 3 BJs 119/23) sentenced him to six years and nine months, a co-defendant to one year and nine months suspended, and ordered the confiscation of 880,000 EUR.

Authority / court

Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart, 7. Strafsenat (Az. 7 St 3 BJs 119/23)

Area of law

Sanctions and export control · Breaches of sanctions and embargoes

Legal basis

§ 18 Außenwirtschaftsgesetz i. V. m. Verordnung (EU) Nr. 833/2014

Action

Custodial sentence

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Culpability

intentional

Liability of senior managers

Managing director of two trading companies personally sentenced to imprisonment.

Published

17 Jul 2024

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

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