The Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) arrested a 23-year-old man on Monday on suspicion of money laundering, it is reported on Tuesday. Since 2018, the suspect is said to have bought 1 million euros in cash watches with money that presumably comes from “criminal sources”.
A house in Amsterdam and a hotel room in The Hague were searched. The FIOD has seized administration.
“The suspect is a professional watch dealer and has also failed to report unusual transactions and to conduct customer due diligence”, according to the FIOD.
The investigation into the twenties started when several jewelers, financial institutions and an accountant reported unusual transactions.
“By buying goods from money obtained through crime or by investing it, criminal earnings are laundered. Criminals want to spend the money they have earned in the underworld in the upper world,” explains the FIOD.
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