(1) An obliged entity must not inform the contracting party, the instructing party of the transaction or other third parties of
- the intended filing or filing of a report under section 43 (1),
- an investigation launched on the basis of a report under section 43 (1), or
- a demand for information under section 30 (3), sentence 1.
(2) 1The prohibition does not apply to disclosure - to government agencies,
- between obliged entities under section 2 (1) nos. 1 to 3 and 6 to 8 that belong to the same group,
- between obliged entities under section 2 (1) nos. 1 to 3 and 6 to 8 that are parent companies under
section 9 (1) and their branches and group companies in accordance with section 1 (16) no. 2 located in third countries and subject to obligations under anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing law in those countries, insofar as they have effectively implemented the measures under section 9 (1) sentence 2 nos. 1, 3 and 4,
- between obliged entities under section 2 (1) nos. 10 to 12 from member states of the European Union or from third countries which impose requirements regarding a system to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing equivalent to those laid down in Directive (EU) 2015/849, provided that the persons concerned perform their professional activities
a) by means of self-employment,
b) as employees within the same legal person, or
c) as employees within a structure which shares common ownership, management or compliance monitoring in relation to requirements to prevent money laundering or terrorist financing, - between obliged entities under section 2 (1) nos. 1 to 3, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 12 in cases which relate to the same contracting party and the same transaction involving two or more obliged entities, if
a) the obliged entities are domiciled in a member state of the European Union or in a third country which imposes requirements regarding a system to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing equivalent to those laid down in Directive (EU) 2015/849,
b) the obliged entities are from the same professional category, and
c) the obliged entities are subject to comparable obligations as regards professional secrecy and personal data protection.
2Information disclosed under sentence 1, nos. 2 to 5, may be used solely for the purpose of preventing money laundering or terrorist financing.
(3) 1Unless otherwise regulated in this Act or other laws, government agencies other than the German Financial Intelligence Unit which have gained knowledge of a report filed under section 43 (1) must not disclose this information to - the contracting party of the obliged entity,
- the instructing party of the transaction,
- the beneficial owner,
- a person used as a representative or messenger by one of the persons specified in nos. 1 to 3, or
- the legal advisor engaged by one of the persons specified in nos. 1 to 4 above.
2Disclosure of this information to these persons is only permissible if the German Financial Intelligence Unit has issued its prior consent and disclosure of this information does not change the original purpose of the suspicious transaction report.
(4) If obliged entities under section 2 (1) nos. 10 to 12 seek to dissuade a client from engaging in illegal activity, this does not constitute disclosure.
(5) 1Obliged entities under section 2 (1) nos. 1 to 9 may provide each other with information other than that specified in subsection (1) about specific matters which involve abnormalities or unusual circumstances indicating money laundering, one of its predicate offences or terrorist financing, if they can assume that other obliged entities require this information for - the risk assessment of a corresponding or similar transaction or business relationship, or
- the assessment of whether a report under section 43 (1) or a criminal complaint under section 158 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Strafprozessordnung) should be filed.
2The information may also be provided using databases, irrespective of whether these databases are operated by the obliged entities under section 2 (1) nos. 1 to 9 themselves or by third parties. 3The information provided may be used solely for the purpose of preventing money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing and only subject to the conditions imposed by the obliged entity providing the information.
(6) The Federal Ministry of Finance may, in consultation with the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, by means of a regulation not requiring the consent of the Bundesrat, enact further provisions prohibiting the disclosure of information with regard to obliged entities from high-risk third countries under Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2015/849.