Gold robbery at border control: Turkish driver under suspicion of money laundering!

Gold robbery at border control: Turkish driver under suspicion of money laundering!

Passau, Deutschland - An unexpected find employed the Fahners of the Passau border police inspection on the A3 motorway on Friday, June 27, 2025. At around 6.30 p.m., the officers checked a small van with Turkish approval. What they discovered made you take notice: several wrapped packages with a total weight of around eight kilograms of gold and jewelry. A suspicion of money laundering led to ensuring the valuable finds, since the driver, a 45-year-old Turkish citizen, was unable to provide evidence of the origin or use of the gold bars. The Lower Bavaria criminal police inspection took over the investigation, but the driver was allowed to continue his journey after completing the measures. This is reported by the Police Headquarters of Bavaria.

What is going on at the limits? Another incident in the region illustrates the explosiveness of the topic of money laundering. On Sunday, also in the Passau area, a vehicle with Swiss approval in Neuhaus am Inn was checked. During this check, the officials found cash in the five -digit range and raw diamonds, which together were worth several hundred thousand euros. The 71-year-old driver made inconsistent information, which also led to suspected money laundering. After ensuring money and diamonds, the Passau criminal police inspection and the public prosecutor's office took over the further investigation. He too was allowed to go again after the police measures, while the investigations are going on. The [Passauer Neue Presse] (https://www.pnp.de/lokales/landkreis-passau/verdtacht-der-gelden-bargeld-und-diamanten-ben- border-im-kreis-passau-fuden-18873938).

background for money laundering control

DiezR incidents are not isolated, but are in the context of a national strategy to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, which has been pursued in Germany since 2017. Under the direction of the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), a national risk analysis was launched in which 35 authorities from the federal and state governments are involved. The aim is to recognize and minimize existing and future risks in money laundering control. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) plays a crucial role here, especially in the processing of suspected money laundering reports. The [Federal Customs Administration] (https://www.zoll.de/de/fiu/fachliche-informations/national- risikanalysis/national- risikanalysis_node.html) shows that anonymous transaction options, the real estate sector and the financial transfer business are among the largest risk fields.

These recent control campaigns once again illustrate how important civil society and police action is in money laundering control. During the change of time and technology, it requires a trained eye to see through the background of such business.