Gold and underground banking at centre of German-Dutch laundering case
A joint operation on 7 October targeted a suspected international network allegedly moving criminal proceeds through gold.
Around 450 investigators searched some forty premises in Germany, Friesland and near Rotterdam. Three main suspects were arrested; the overall investigation concerns 24 people. Gold, vehicles, data devices and cash were secured.
Investigators suspect the group offered laundering services, mainly for drug proceeds. Cash was allegedly converted into gold through participating jewellers and moved to Türkiye.
A Dutch strand concerns a suspected underground banker allegedly involved in cash flows of around €60 million. This is an amount under investigation, not the sum seized during the action day.
A Dutch police follow-up on 4 November gives a broader account of the 7 October operation: five arrests overall, four in Germany and one in the Netherlands. The earlier German statement reported three principal suspects arrested. The Dutch arrest concerns a 55-year-old Rotterdam man detained in Eindhoven on suspicion of involvement in receiving and forwarding approximately €60 million in cash.
The Dutch follow-up reports seizures in Rotterdam and Eindhoven of data devices, around €10,000 cash, a vehicle and real estate. For the German searches, police list nineteen vehicles, approximately €100,000 cash, melted gold, silver bars and property worth at least €2 million.
