Once again, the "Königreich Deutschland" (Kingdom Germany) is keeping the BaFin busy: the financial supervisory authority, along with the Bundesbank and the police, conducted searches of ten locations associated with the group on a Wednesday morning at the end of November, as reported by BaFin. The accusation is that the "Königreich" engaged in unauthorized financial transactions. In February, authorities had already closed the branches of the "Gemeinwohlkasse," a pseudo bank.

The "Königreich" with its address in Wittenberg is not your typical shady operator. Instead, it is a self-proclaimed sovereign entity or micronation within Germany. It is associated with the broader Reichsbürger movement, rejecting the legitimacy of the Federal Republic of Germany and engaging in activities that challenge established legal and governmental structures. A familiar face is activist Peter Fitzek, who tests, if not crosses, the boundaries of what is allowed.

Officially, the focus is on finances. According to BaFin, unauthorized banking and insurance activities can lead to imprisonment for up to five years. The group operates with a "Königliche Reichsbank" (Royal Reichsbank), promoting an account for "E-Mark," managing "capital transfers," and listing projects such as a parent initiative called "Kinderreich" or a "media center."

However, the dispute runs deeper. The state is grappling with an appropriate response to extremists from the presumably right-esoteric milieu. Fitzek and his associates have repeatedly established pseudo-financial addresses, thus provoking the banking supervision. As early as 2010, BaFin prohibited the operation of insurance business. Order followed upon order.

There is method in this contentiousness. The heterogeneous Reichsbürger scene, which is estimated to include around 23,000 individuals nationwide, actively seeks confrontation with the administration, as stated by the Saxon State Office for the Protection of the Constitution. It is not always clear whether certain activists pose a threat. The group "Königreich Deutschland" states on its website that it is seeking people who "peacefully want to build new structures for the common good."

Meanwhile, Dirk-Martin Christian, the president of the Saxon State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, warns that the group around the self-proclaimed "king" Fitzek aims for the abolition of the liberal order. The danger of the ideology is evident in the case of Heinrich XIII. Prince Reuß, who allegedly planned a violent overthrow of the Federal Republic and is currently in pretrial detention. The "Königreich Deutschland" did not initially respond to a request for comment on the classification by the Constitutional Protection Agency on Wednesday.

Reading between the lines, BaFin is appealing to law enforcement: the supervisory authority has "consistently, repeatedly, and immediately reported criminally relevant violations to the responsible public prosecutors in recent years." The continual crossing of boundaries by the Reichsbürger seems to touch a nerve in Bonn. That's precisely what Fitzek and his allies are aiming for.