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Officers during a search (symbolic picture, here in Jamel in September)

Photo: Jens Büttner / dpa

During searches for money laundering, forgery of documents and credit fraud, investigators searched 56 houses, apartments and offices in several federal states. On Tuesday, they seized assets worth a total of 6.3 million euros in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, according to the State Criminal Police Office in Düsseldorf. Among them were cash, real estate, a luxury car, expensive watches, handbags and jewelry.

A 40-year-old suspect was arrested. He was to be brought before a magistrate on Tuesday. In total, the investigations are directed against 29 defendants between the ages of 26 and 63. From February 2017 to August 2022, the group is said to have falsified salary statements, bank statements, employment and rental contracts in various compositions and presented them to banks.

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Defendants are also said to have secured loans themselves

According to the investigations, they are said to have offered financial services in exchange for payment of commissions. In this way, they feigned the creditworthiness of their customers at the banks and brokered loans to finance real estate or expensive vehicles. In some cases, according to investigators, the accused secured loans for themselves. According to the statement, the sum of the funds paid out is around twelve million euros. Seven defendants are said to have laundered money.

SWE/dpa