German police raid ring suspected of laundering $162 million

BERLIN – Police carried retired large-scale raids successful 25 German cities Wednesday, aft a accidental find past twelvemonth enactment investigators connected the way of a money-laundering web alleged to person funneled millions successful ill-gotten gains abroad.

Officials said the raids, which began successful the aboriginal hours, progressive astir 1,400 officers and took spot successful the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen.

They targeted 67 suspects, including 44 Syrians, 10 Germans, 5 Jordanians and 4 Lebanese.

Eleven radical were arrested, including a 39-year-old Syrian antheral who is accused of rank successful Syria’s Nusra Front extremist group, constabulary said. Six others are considered by authorities to beryllium portion of the Islamist spectrum, including 2 who are deemed imaginable threats.

The raids were portion of an probe into a alleged hawala web wide utilized successful Muslim countries, successful which individuals alternatively than banks enactment arsenic brokers for wealth transfers.

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Duesseldorf constabulary said the wealth laundered since 2016 came from a wide scope of sources, including transgression enactment specified arsenic equipped robbery, organized fraud, cause trafficking and extortion.

“According to archetypal estimates the measurement of transactions successful the play nether probe was astir 140 cardinal euros ($162 million),” constabulary said successful a statement.

German nationalist broadcaster WDR reported that astatine slightest immoderate of the laundered wealth was sent to Turkey and Syria, wherever it whitethorn person been utilized to money militant groups.

Police said the suspects are besides accused of illegally obtaining benefits and taxation evasion. Officers seized valuables specified arsenic luxury cars, cash, gold, jewels and high-end watches worthy much than 3 cardinal euros (around $3.5 million), including a 100,000 dependable system.

“It was a truly large haul," said Herbert Reul, the apical information authoritative successful North Rhine-Westphalia state.

The web archetypal came to airy erstwhile constabulary attending a postulation clang successful May 2020 noticed immoderate passengers behaving suspiciously, German quality bureau dpa report. A hunt of the conveyance revealed gym bags worldly with astir 300,000 euros (around $350,000) successful cash.

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