Ten men belonging to the same family were arrested in April on suspicion of large-scale money laundering, likely stemming from international drug trafficking, Dutch police said on Thursday (April 28).
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The arrests came on April 12 during a “day of action” after a year-long investigation into tens of millions of dollars in cash and bitcoins, law enforcement officials said. On the day that 225 people were mobilized, “searches took place in fifteen locations” around and within the Dutch capital, police said. More than 1.4 million euros were confiscated and caches were discovered in furniture and cars. “The Amsterdam police have arrested ten men suspected of underground banking,” the police said in a statement. “In addition, the men are suspected of large-scale money laundering and membership of a criminal organization,” she added.
drug trafficking money
A team specializing in financial crimes, under the supervision of prosecutors, opened an extensive investigation in early 2020, which found that shopping and sports bags filled with large amounts of money were being moved, particularly with cars in which caches had been set high. A building southeast of Amsterdam was the headquarters. The money confiscated and apparently laundered from these suspects likely came from international drug trafficking, police said.
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The suspects are between 24 and 60 years old and live in Amsterdam, in the municipalities of Diemen, Almere (near the capital) and Paramaribo (Suriname). Seven of them were taken into custody on April 25. The pre-trial detention of two suspects has been suspended due to personal circumstances, police said. Through further investigations, the police had already confiscated several million euros and tons of cocaine.
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