Around 1,000 officers took part in raids across Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate as investigators targeted an alleged criminal organisation linked to “Crime as a Service,” Frankfurt prosecutors said. Officers searched 82 residential and business premises and executed five arrest warrants. The investigation names 53 suspects, including ten accused of forming a criminal organisation and committing a range of offences.
The ten main suspects are alleged to have operated a shadow banking system, transferring several hundred million euros to destinations outside Europe—particularly China—in return for commission, and laundering money. Prosecutors also allege that so-called cover invoices, worth a high double-digit million-euro sum, were used to assist in withholding employment payments.
Further allegations include renting 41 vehicles worth about €1.85 million through shell companies and misappropriating them. The ten main suspects are also accused of helping drug trafficking on a significant scale by financing logistics services.
During the searches, authorities enforced asset freezes worth approximately €6.3 million and seized firearms, gold bars and large amounts of cash. The operation, focused mainly on the Rhine-Main region, followed more than a year of covert investigations. Police from Frankfurt, tax investigators from the Frankfurt tax office and officers from the Rosenheim main customs office took part, alongside police special units.
Sources: FAZ.