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Police officers on duty in the major raid: "Turn off the money tap"
Photo: Roberto Pfeil / dpa
With a major raid of more than 1,400 officers, the police in three federal states took action against an international network that is said to have shifted 140 million euros abroad.
The investigators classify the network as a criminal organization and are investigating 67 suspects, according to a statement.
Eleven of them were arrested on Wednesday.
NRW Minister of Justice Peter Biesenbach (CDU) spoke of a "bang" against organized crime.
The money laundering network apparently had more than just financial goals: One of the arrested people, a 39-year-old Syrian, is said to be a terrorist from the Islamist Al-Nusra Front.
Two other suspects are known to be Islamist threats, four as so-called "relevant persons" on the Islamist spectrum.
The money is said to have flowed to Turkey and Syria through payment offices in the Netherlands.
A court issued property arrests totaling 140 million euros.
This means that the investigators can access the accounts of the victims.
"More than 60 million euros each went through the hands of the two main accused," said North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU).
1400 investigators in 25 cities on duty
In North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen, 81 properties in 25 cities were searched: apartments, offices and banks.
The focus of the measures was North Rhine-Westphalia.
Among the more than 1,400 emergency services on Wednesday were also special units as well as forces from the state security and tax investigation, as well as financial investigators.
NRW Interior Minister Reul spoke of one of the largest proceedings of his term in office to date.
Cars, money and gold worth more than three million euros were seized - and a stereo system worth 100,000 euros.
The police spoke of seized evidence and assets amounting to more than two million euros.
A tax advisor also received an unannounced visit.
"We turned off an extremely rich cash tap today," said Reul.
"That was a bloody fat thing."
The accused are charged with other acts, including hostage-taking, robbery, drug trafficking, professional gang fraud and terrorist financing.
The 67 suspects are 44 Syrians, but also ten Germans, five Jordanians and four Lebanese.
The investigators counted a total of eight different nationalities.
They are said to have laundered funds from criminal offenses with illegal payment services and made them available for further criminal offenses.
In addition, the accused are accused of social security fraud, social security fraud and tax evasion.
They would have helped each other in covering up these acts.
The starting point of the investigation is said to have been a mishap in May 2020.
At that time, a car had left the A61 lane.
Because the inmates behaved suspiciously, the officers are said to have become suspicious and discovered 300,000 euros in a gym bag.
This got the investigation rolling, said Justice Minister Biesenbach of the German Press Agency.
ptz / AFP / dpa
