- 30 investigations based on Encrochat data in MV
The encryption software used by criminals, Encrochat, has led to numerous investigations and convictions in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, particularly in the drug sector, following its discovery. Thanks to telecommunications data provided by French investigators, 30 investigations were initiated at the state prosecutor's offices in the northeast. This is evident from the response of the state government to a minor request by the independent member of parliament Eva Maria Schneider-Gärtner.
"These proceedings have now largely been concluded with legally binding convictions," it said. New insights were gained in these proceedings, which in turn triggered numerous further investigations. These are not recorded separately in statistics, it was said.
New investigations expected
A new wave of information is now heading towards the state prosecutor's offices, which is expected to lead to further investigations, according to the state government's assessment. It concerns a data set from the crypto-phone provider SkyECC, which is said to be significantly larger than the Encrochat package and was obtained in a similar manner.
A significant increase in workload for the state prosecutor's offices and courts is expected, as the data needs to be evaluated. However, the personnel has not been increased so far, as stated by the state government.
"Since the additional workload of the courts cannot yet be assessed, no personnel increase is planned at this time." However, the development is being monitored and action will be taken if necessary.
In 2020, the police in France and the Netherlands cracked the software of the company Encrochat and subsequently intercepted millions of secret chat messages from criminals. In the course of international legal assistance, they passed on found data to their German colleagues.
The following data set from the crypto-phone provider SkyECC is anticipated to lead to new investigations. As the state government has noted, since the additional workload of the courts cannot yet be assessed, no personnel increase is planned at this time, but the development is being closely monitored.
