Legal pitfalls: How to protect yourself when investing abroad!

Legal pitfalls: How to protect yourself when investing abroad!

International investments, for example in solar parks in Spain or technology start-ups in Dubai, offer attractive opportunities, but can also be associated with considerable legal uncertainty and fraud risks. Before investing from Germany, essential legal questions should be clarified in order to minimize possible risks, such as anwalt.de reported.

The important audit aspects include the companies' places of registration, various supervisory authorities such as BaFin or other European regulatory bodies, as well as compliance with the licensing requirements according to the Banking Act (Section 32 KWG). Companies without this license operate their services illegally. Providers can be checked via BaFin's platforms or in the ESMA database, which is an essential measure to protect investors.

Legal framework for investors

Investments are often tied to specific legal frameworks that are intended to limit the risk of investment fraud. The legal regulations that apply to offers marketed in Germany require that providers must provide information about the risks associated with their financial products (Section 63 ff. WpHG). Claims for damages (§ 823 BGB) can also be asserted if incorrect information is provided.

It is particularly important for international projects to check the transparency of business partners. Investors should ask themselves who the contractual partner is, whether a specific contract exists and which legal system applies. Warning signs of dubious offers include guaranteed or above-average returns, urgency effects through aggressive sales practices and unclear fee structures.

Risk reduction measures

If there is any uncertainty, investors should definitely seek legal advice before signing a contract. No payments or advance payments should be made to unknown platforms to protect yourself from possible fraud. Dubious providers can also be reported to BaFin or the police. It is therefore essential for investors not to be guided by short-term promises of profit and to pay attention to seriousness.

The Baden financial regulator has also warned of general risks in the area of ​​international investments. These are not inherently dubious, but without careful review there are significant risks. Consulting professionals, such as lawyers or tax advisors, can be crucial to avoid losses and assert legal claims.

In addition to this topic, BaFin has made current developments in the area of ​​supervisory law, particularly with regard to the influence of investors on investment funds. New guidelines and information sheets are intended to help both increase transparency for investors and make the regulation of incoming investments more strict in order to better protect investors' rights PE Magazine.

BaFin uses modern technologies and data protection-compliant approaches to ensure the transparency and traceability of investments, while the handling of user data is always a focus.

Overall, it is summarized that a comprehensive legal examination before international investments is not only advisable, but necessary in order to identify and avoid potential risks at an early stage.