Suspected Money Laundering of Over 1.35 Million Euros in COVID-19 Funds: Indictment Issued - Country's current status remains unknown to the Commission.
Thousands of fraud cases related to aid funds during the coronavirus pandemic have ended up with the public prosecutor's office in Berlin. The office has indicted a Berlin car dealer in connection with these investigations, accusing them of commercial money laundering.
The investigation suggests that the car dealer was part of a group that filed numerous unauthorized applications for coronavirus aid across the country in 2020. In Berlin alone, this group is said to have filed 23 applications and received a total of around 3.83 million euros in aid.
The specific brands of luxury cars involved in the money laundering scheme are Rolls Royce, Porsche, and Bentley, including Bentley Motors Limited. The suspect is accused of buying or reselling these high-end vehicles to conceal the illegal origin of the money.
The public prosecutor's office is investigating more than 60 applications nationwide, including in Lower Saxony's Göttingen and Hesse's Kassel. Besides Göttingen and Kassel, Berlin is another location in Germany where most fraudsters related to the misuse of Coronavirus aid funds have been investigated. This suggests a broader investigation beyond Göttingen and Kassel, including Berlin.
The investigation into the money laundering scheme is being conducted by authorities across multiple regions in Germany. As of spring, there were around 550 open cases with the public prosecutor's office in Berlin. The authorities assessed that it was easy for fraudsters to obtain subsidies at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The investigation into the Berlin car dealer's money laundering case is ongoing. The 42-year-old suspect has been indicted, and the public prosecutor's office is investigating 11 cases of commercial money laundering against them. Further details may be revealed as the case progresses.
The group is suspected of filing unauthorized applications for so-called November and December aid as well as bridging aid III in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. The authorities are working diligently to uncover the full extent of this fraudulent activity and bring those responsible to justice.
