Federal Criminal Police Office

Dirty war with money launderers in the country

Organized criminals "launder" their loot money via domestic accounts, properties, etc.(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Organized gangs are also laundering large sums of money in Austria - just last weekend, investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Office achieved a success against online fraudsters. 800,000 euros were frozen in domestic accounts. But the investigators still have their hands full!

They lie, cheat, conceal their deeds and pretend to domestic authorities and companies that they are making generous investments or "unsuspicious" financial transactions - we are talking about organized criminals who also carry out money laundering on a grand scale in this country. The money now mostly comes from scams on the internet. Difficult to trace and combat. But there are also successes on the police front.

This is also demonstrated by the money laundering report published on Thursday. Thousands of suspicious activity reports were registered last year at banks (6482 cases) and traders of cryptocurrencies (1021) such as Bitcoin & Co. While banks have noticed a sharp year-on-year increase, the demand for cryptocurrencies from the darknet is falling.

International cooperation can stop perpetrators
Just last weekend, investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BK) were able to stop a payment following a multi-million euro fraud in France. 800,000 euros were frozen in an account, but the rest disappeared in China.

Scherscher and Verdier (right) hunt down money launderers in the country.(Bild: Josef Poyer)

Manuel Scherscher, head of Department 7 for white-collar crime at the BK, explains: "In the previous year alone, there were 8,000 suspected cases of money laundering. The perpetrator groups are international, which is why we need good networking at home and abroad." Top investigator Louis Verdier is also focusing on the money of Eastern European investors.

We simply have to strengthen the gut feeling of lawyers and the like. Dubious investors have usually not made their money from legal transactions.

Manuel Scherscher, BK-Abteilungsleiter

From "looking the other way" to contributors
It was only last year that a lawyer was stopped who vehemently wanted to set up a lucrative deal with dubious Ukrainian funds. However, the lawyer only received a hearing before the professional disciplinary commission.

Banks, lawyers and notaries are trained in detail by investigators to stop conspicuous money movements. In any case, the success proves the police officers right. After all, more suspected cases often means more investigations.