34th Day of Trial – Bitcoin Investigation Leads Nowhere

Early Investigation – Without Concrete Suspicion

Attorney Dr. Reinhard Löffler pointed to an internal note indicating that the State Criminal Police was tasked with investigating Michael Ballweg as early as June 15, 2022 — at a time when no specific accusation had yet been made.

“This wasn’t a criminal investigation order; it was a sniffing mission — and that’s exactly what the result looks like,” said Löffler.

Ralf Ludwig, also part of the defense team, questioned the legality of these early actions. Whether crypto wallets were examined without a court order remains to be clarified.

Three Witnesses, Three Dead Ends

None of the witnesses could substantiate the key allegations:

• The first investigator confirmed that Bitcoins had been transferred to external wallets — but were not moved further. No fund outflows could be identified.

• When asked whether the funds had been used improperly, he replied:

  “I don’t know what the purposes of QUERDENKEN-711 are.”

• The second witness admitted he didn’t know the origin or destination of the funds. His report stated:

  “The source of the deposits cannot be derived from the extracted data.”

• He also couldn’t confirm any private use of the funds:

  “That was not part of my assignment.”

The third witness, an LKA analyst, presented graphic visualizations of Bitcoin movements. Her analysis ended in a series of dead ends. Many addresses could not be traced.

Ballweg: No Evidence – Not Even for Coconut Water

Michael Ballweg commented after the hearing:

“34 days of trial — and not a single witness has been able to say what I supposedly spent the money on privately. It’s all still speculation — about tea and coconut water.”

The key finding: Neither the fund flows nor their purposes could be reconstructed. As stated in court, Bitcoin is a pseudonymous system, which makes investigations nearly impossible without specific leads.

Outlook

The trial continues on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Witnesses from the QUERDENKEN-711 network will testify — including individuals who received financial support from Ballweg.