A group should have been drug money for South American cocaine cartels are washed, especially in Germany. The defendant: this is in Paris in front of the court. A report of the NDR/WDR/SZ research cooperation.
The German-Belgian border in Aachen-Lichtenbusch, at the end of July, 2015: It was shortly after noon, as the Federal police reviewed a Mercedes C-class with the Bremen flag, was driven from Belgium to Germany. At the wheel was A young man, as well as his co-driver born in Lebanon and residing in a place in Bremen. The two claimed to be for shopping in Belgium dangers. During the search of the vehicle, the officials found, however, in sports bags between pants hidden 489.000 euros, in small denominations.
Further investigations by the customs investigation office Essen showed that the bags of cocaine had traces of. Without knowing it, met the investigators at the time of control, two members of a group to have between Europe, West Africa and the middle East, luxury watches, jewelry and cars to the value of tens of millions of moved. Hundreds of pages of investigative files were able to view the NDR, WDR and SZ, allow a rare glimpse into what the investigators for a global cocaine and money – laundering networks.
In the back seat of a Range Rover, the gun of a suspected perpetrator in the case of the Cedar is up on money laundering network
A network in Western Europe
In February 2015, the managed agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), therefore, calls alleged members of a Colombian drug cartel listen to, in which you are about the Move a drug to win languages to South America. This Information provoked in France an extensive investigation, in the course of which hundreds of phone calls intercepted and a number of covert surveillance measures were carried out. Quickly, the investigators had identified an informal network all over the whole of Western Europe preloaded, and its offshoots in the Middle East, Africa and South America.
A total of 14 people have now been indicted, together, they should have tens of millions of euros from drug stores washed. Almost all of them are Lebanese citizens or have family roots in Lebanon. Investigators have called the procedure “the Cedar”, after the English word for the cedar tree, the tree in the coat of arms of the Lebanese flag. According to the investigation documents, they assume that the network was active in Europe, but from Lebanon controlled, and was in his high-times of around one Million euros washed should have per week, also in Germany. The extent to which these allegations are before the court, to the full extent is unclear.
It should also be jewellery to the value of tens of millions of euros have been moved
From the Lebanon to South America
At the end of the investigation, an Operation in January 2016, in the case of the police officers in six countries, houses were searched, Accused, arrests, and a total of more than 800,000 euros in cash seizures could. Also in Germany, there are several apartments in Düsseldorf, Münster, and in the region of Bremen were taken by the searches, four Suspects were arrested.
The group is supposed to be arch to proceed: Some of the members, such as the Aachen apprehended men, collected in Belgium, Spain, Italy, France and Germany, cash from drug sales. The money should then be passed to other members of the group that bought them jewelry, luxury watches and expensive cars in order to bring these goods into Lebanon, where they are sold. The sale proceeds, so the charge of the investigators, to be from Lebanon directly to the cartels in South America flowed, had delivered the cocaine to Europe. In the meantime, the investigators of the question of whether or not the perpetrators could have acted on behalf of Hezbollah. The accusation of terror financing, however, is not part of the indictment, apparently because supporting documents are missing.
“Drug trafficking’t know anything”
The focal point of the illegal shops should be Germany. Two defendants lived in Münster or Düsseldorf, and two more in Bremen. The procedure could also have four German jewelers unpleasant consequences. “The investigations have shown that in the years 2011 to 2015, these jewelers more than 20 million Euro have taken of these persons involved. Each delivered in cash and delivered in plastic bags,” said a spokesman for the Prosecutor’s office of Aachen. Against the four jewelers is now determined on the basis of allegations of frivolous money-laundering.
These money pieces of evidence in the “Cedar notes”-case
One of the main Ali is accused, for example, from Münster. He stated in an interview with North German radio, West German radio, and the newspaper süddeutsche Zeitung, that he was innocent: to Be a thriving, legal export trade had been exploited by the other accused. Of drug money he didn’t know until today is unclear on what basis the public Prosecutor’s office raises their allegations. He had assumed that the money was of legal origin. The accusation that the group Hezbollah’s support, he constructed: The French investigators had let their US-American colleagues, political influence, without that there is evidence for this connection, said, for example, Other defendants would not comment on the request.
60,000 in a money laundering suspicion notifications in 2017
Experts believe that the alleged perpetrator didn’t happen to be in Germany on shopping trips. The money laundering in this country is lagging behind in comparison to neighboring European countries. “It is completely accepted that you pay for luxury goods or even real estate with cash,” complains of the financial politician Sven Giegold, who sits for the Greens in the European Parliament. Although a lot of dealers are obliged under the money laundering act, eye-catching view payments, this would happen only rarely.
In fact, last year, 60,000 of money laundering suspicion reports received by the competent Financial Intelligence Unit of the customs (FIU), of which only 216 were accounted for but on jewelers, car salesman and other goods dealers. A spokesman for the FIU informed that it’ll take the problems seriously. In the coming year, they wanted to go specifically on goods dealer, to sensitize them stronger. In addition, they wanted to improve the cooperation with the Supervisory authorities in the countries. The process in Paris is scheduled to run until the end of the month of November.