The German police will investigate criminals who buy Dutch cars on a large scale and thereby launder them. According to police magazine Blauw , the police are counting on the fact that in the last few years more than 1 billion euros in criminal money has been laundered in the Netherlands in this way.

The cars are paid with cash. The Dutch police have been working on this phenomenon since 2016 when investigators scrutinized transactions at a car company in Hoogeveen. The Germans are now on the trail of a Lebanese group from Berlin that buys Dutch second-hand cars from the more expensive segment on a large scale with drug profits.

The destination of the cars often does not correspond to reality. On paper, they often go to non-existent firms in Eastern Europe. This way millions of VAT are evaded.

According to a rough estimate, the total sum of criminal money laundered annually in the Netherlands is around 16 billion.