Streamer Twitch MontanaBlack has been accused of offering money to a YouTuber to prevent them from releasing a video. Media lawyer Christian Solmecke analyzed the case in his YouTube video and shares his assessment on it.
What is MontanaBlack accused of? The YouTuber ABK recently published a YouTube video in which he claimed that MontanaBlack offered money to YouTuber KuchenTV to prevent him from uploading a critical video about him. This is said to have happened about two years ago.
As evidence, ABK nowadays presents a voice message from MontanaBlack, in which the Twitch streamer describes the situation. ABK refers to it as hush money
(source: YouTube from 05:06).
According to the voice message, KuchenTV almost accepted the money – which was supposed to be handed over in cash. However, a day before the handover, he decided against it and uploaded his criticism video about MontanaBlack after all.
At that time, ABK had already raised this accusation, but stated he had no more evidence to support his statement. According to his own account, the YouTuber initially wanted to test the reactions of those involved, to see if they would comment on it independently.
Only one thing could have caused problems
What does Christian Solmecke say about it? In a YouTube video, media lawyer Christian Solmecke assesses the situation from a legal perspective. According to Solmecke, it is not illegal in Germany to pay someone money to keep a video offline. He further evaluates the situation:
- Solmecke dismisses the possibility of immorality (§ 138 BGB), as KuchenTV is not in a coercive situation or a weaker position compared to MontanaBlack.
- According to Solmecke, it is not a bribery situation (§ 334 StGB), as this paragraph only applies to public officials, for example, civil servants or soldiers.
- Also, the paragraph on coercion (§ 240 StGB) does not apply, since MontanaBlack did not threaten with violence or similar but allegedly tried to resolve the matter through negotiations and money.
The only thing that could have been problematic are taxes, says Solmecke. From an amount of 20,000 euros, a gift tax must be paid. In this case, by the recipient, KuchenTV. If KuchenTV theoretically accepted the money in cash and did not tax it, he would have committed tax evasion (§ 370 StGB).
“Thing between me and Monte”
What do the involved parties say? KuchenTV has already commented on the situation:
It is being alleged that I don’t directly share every private piece of information mentioned by others online – wtf. This was a thing between me and Monte and we agreed that it would remain private, even though I declined. At that time, when ABK mentioned it, Monte made sure that I had a future on the platform at all. So why should I randomly disclose a private matter between us?
– KuchenTV on X
MontanaBlack has not yet commented on the topic, neither on social platforms nor live on the Twitch stream. Should this change, we will of course update the article.
It is known that MontanaBlack has amassed a considerable amount of money through Twitch and YouTube and is wealthy. He also enjoys spending his money on special collectibles. However, one turned out to be a forgery: MontanaBlack has boasted about a collectible for almost 10 years, now realizes: He wasted thousands of euros
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