Tens of millions of euros in fake invoices, multiple companies with identical business operations, and huge amounts of cash withdrawn from business accounts. Sometimes, as a financial investigator at FIU-the Netherlands, you receive reports that immediately give you the gut feeling that something isn’t right.

Ivan has never known anything other than a life of luxury. Designer clothes, expensive dinners, exquisite watches: as the youngest child of a high-ranking government official, he has everything he desires. That is, until his country is hit by wide-ranging EU sanctions. The luxury goods he enjoys so much are also included on the sanctions list. In this case study, we demonstrate how Ivan tries to maintain his lavish lifestyle despite the sanctions.

What is the connection between a sneaker and money laundering? In the case we report here, a hardware wallet for cryptocurrency was hidden inside a shoe. It later turned out to contain millions of euros in cryptocurrency with an unknown origin. The police eventually arrested the owner of the wallet and his partner on suspicion of money laundering.

In this case, a company owner was suspected of large-scale money laundering, forgery, and more. The investigation services were alerted and a criminal investigation followed, including an information request to FIU-the Netherlands.

A Dutch court recently sentenced a man to five months in prison for money laundering in a first instance ruling. The case came to light following a report from a car dealership regarding an unusual transaction.

When police stopped a driver for using a mobile phone while driving, they unexpectedly discovered tens of thousands of euros in cash inside the vehicle. This triggered preparations for a criminal investigation, and the investigation service submitted an information request to FIU-the Netherlands.