In theory, a financial penalty of as much as EUR 40 million could have been imposed against Deutsche Wohnen SE. The authorities took into account all incriminating and mitigating factors for the precise calculation of the fine, as provided for by law. Weighing against Deutsche Wohnen SE was the fact that the company consciously designed the archival structure in use, and the relevant data was improperly processed over an extended period of time. In mitigation of a more severe penalty, it was taken into account that the company had indeed taken initial steps to rectify the violation, and had formally cooperated well with the supervisory authorities. The fact that no examples of inappropriate use by the company of the illegally stored data could be found also mitigated against the imposition of a larger fine. In addition to the penalty in the amount of EUR 14.5 million, Deutsche Wohnen is also obligated to pay fines of several thousand Euros in 15 individual cases.