On September 21, 2018, due to space constraints, the trial opening of the Konstanz Regional Court proceedings in the criminal case referred to by the press as the “Mafia case,” which is provisionally scheduled until summer 2019, took place at the Karlsruhe Regional Court. Following the reading of the indictment, Attorney Stirnweiss delivered a statement as an opening statement on behalf of the client, as reported by the Schwäbische Tagblatt, the Südkurier, and the Schwäbische.