Criminals cause real estate prices to explode: buyers compete with “criminals from all over the world”. Around 100 billion euros of illegal income in Germany is turned into supposedly legal money in this way every year.
“Up to 30 percent of dirty money ends up in real estate, which drives up real estate Prices, especially in large cities,” says Kilian Wegner, professor of white collar criminal law. Russian oligarchs also acquire high-quality real estate in Berlin and other cities in order to “launder” money from questionable sources.