The Public Prosecutor General's Office in Berlin announced on Tuesday (20 February) that it had uncovered a major Russo-Eurasian money laundering network.

As reported by DW, the investigation suggests that the money laundered may amount to several tens of millions of euros, the true origin of which was concealed.

As part of this investigation, German law enforcement officers searched 58 residential and commercial premises in the federal states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Baden-Württemberg and Saxony. Furthermore, searches also took place in Latvia and Malta with the support of Eurojust, Europol, and local investigators. Business documents, electronic storage devices and mobile phones have been seized during the searches.

There are 11 suspects in the case, aged 31 to 58, with no other details disclosed. Investigators believe that no later than July 2021, they established a network of companies based on a Maltese financial institution, with numerous fictitious executives, to engage in money laundering. The investigation suggests that the group mainly acted from Berlin and Riga.

A man, 53, has reportedly been detained in Brandenburg. Funds in eight Maltese accounts have been frozen.

The establishment of a German-Latvian Joint Investigation Team in December 2023 facilitated concurrent investigations in Latvia and Germany in this case.

A luxury villa on the Côte d'Azur linked to Gazprom, a Russian multinational energy corporation, was confiscated in France as part of a money laundering investigation.

Estonia has urged the European Union to confiscate over €150 billion of frozen Russian assets by the end of the year in time for the US elections.