On Wednesday, German police conducted large-scale raids in 25 towns in connection with a suspected money-laundering network that allegedly routed millions in ill-gotten earnings abroad.
The raids, which began in the early hours of the morning, involved more than 1,000 policemen and took place in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, and Bremen, according to Duesseldorf police.
Eleven people were detained, including a 39-year-old Syrian man suspected of being a member of Syria’s Nusra Front extremist group, according to police.
The raids are part of an investigation into the so-called hawala network, which is popular in Muslim nations and involves individuals acting as money transfer brokers rather than banks.
The money laundered since 2016 originated from a variety of sources, including criminal behavior such as armed robbery and extortion, according to Duesseldorf police.
“Initial estimates indicate that the volume of transactions during the investigation period was around 140 million euros ($162 million),” police stated in a statement.
The laundered money included profits from narcotics trafficking, according to the German public broadcaster WDR, and at least some of it was moved to Turkey and Syria, where it could have been used to pay extremist groups.
The individuals are also accused of obtaining benefits unlawfully, according to police. Officers seized valuables worth more than 2 million euros, including luxury cars, gold, jewels, and high-end watches.
Authorities intended to hold a press conference at 2:00 p.m. to provide more information (1200GMT).
