Working for CPI he probably is living in the Netherlands, where there are no card-based alternatives to the usual emvco guys. Many shops accept only maestro cards (and vpay, sometimes)

I’m not familiar with German laws, don’t those people making information requests have to be security cleared first? Wouldn’t that provide enough legal leverage to investigate?

It’s not fat bikes in the general meaning of the word, it’s a specific type of electric fatbike that’s very present in the Netherlands and a bit too easy to “unlock”, politie is spending a lot of time and energy stopping and checking their lawfulness (i.e. limit to 25km/h, assistance only-no throttle).

Those so-called fatbikea are more like electric scooters, but they are sold as electric assistance bike, which is a very different category of vehicle with different requirements (typically a minimum age, need to be registered and, depending on the max speed, requires insurance and a helmet)