Investigation into bribery
Anti-money laundering analyst is said to have spied for Clan
February 4, 2024, 2:20 p.m
Germany is decried as a money laundering paradise. Among other things, the FIU unit is supposed to clean up this and examine suspected cases. According to a report, an employee spies on data there and passes it on to a notorious clan.
The Bremen public prosecutor’s office is investigating an employee – or former employee – of the anti-money laundering authority Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) for bribery. This was confirmed by the spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office. Accordingly, the public prosecutor’s office is investigating another defendant in the case for possible bribery. The spokesman did not provide any further information. “Bild am Sonntag” (BAMS) first reported on the case.
According to the report, the accused, as an FIU employee, is said to have passed on confidential information from the authority to a criminal clan for months. The spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office did not comment. The FIU is part of the customs department, which is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Finance.
According to BAMS research, the suspect is said to have worked in a special unit of the General Customs Directorate against money laundering and terrorist financing. According to emails available to her, there was already a raid on the federal authority in this case on May 9, 2023. The suspect was taken away. At that point, he had been working in the FIU’s “Operational Analysis” department for about a year, the newspaper continues.
In this department, suspicious activity reports are checked, for example from banks, notaries or jewelry dealers. Cases in which the suspicion is confirmed then end up with the respective state criminal investigation offices.
Clan information on suspect’s laptop
According to BAMS, the suspect’s apartment was searched. Among other things, a laptop was secured. It is said to have shown that he collected information from his department about the Miri clan and copied it onto his computer. He is also said to have queried data on the status of clan members in the Central Register of Foreigners.
Information about the suspect is said to have emerged from intercepted telephone conversations of clan members at the beginning of 2023, reports the BAMS. The suspect’s name was mentioned. Gambling debts are suspected as a possible motivation for obtaining information. The second suspect is said to have previously worked as a customs officer and bribed the suspected FIU employee. Investigations are also underway against him.