Luxury car dealership in Kassel: money laundering scandal involving millions!

Luxury car dealership in Kassel: money laundering scandal involving millions!

A Kassel car dealership that sells luxury vehicles is suspected of operating through an extensive money laundering system. The Göttingen Central Criminal Inspectorate has initiated investigations since spring 2024, which are under the direction of the Kassel public prosecutor's office. It is suspected that the car dealership with the name Mulsano operated through commercial and gang money laundering. The allegations are serious: It is suspected that money from crimes was concealed through the company, and Corona aid could play a central role. These funds are said to have been used to purchase high-quality vehicles, as autohaus.de reports.

The investigation was triggered by reports of suspected money laundering from various banks and by a procedure by the LKA Berlin, which deals with fraudulently obtained Corona aid. The suspicion: over 1.4 million euros in cash deposits in 2024 were not traceable. These were carried out by the management of the car dealership at a local savings bank. In addition to the allegations of money laundering, there are also tax offenses and commercial receiving of stolen goods. The managing director of the car dealership has already been arrested and brought before the district court.

Searches in several federal states

As part of the investigation, the Kassel district court issued a total of 18 search warrants, which were executed in seven federal states, e.g. in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg. These searches led to the seizure of numerous pieces of evidence. Jewelry, high-quality watches, handbags, clothing and weapons, among other things, were confiscated from the suspects, who are between 38 and 79 years old. This information comes from a report by hna.de.

Of particular concern is the seizure of assets amounting to 2.1 million euros, which is linked to the seizure of 14 luxury vehicles, including a Maybach, a Bentley, several Mercedes-Benz models and a Maserati. These cars together cost almost 1.4 million euros.

Another piece of the puzzle in the fraud scandal?

The incidents surrounding the Kassel car dealership are part of a much larger problem: According to zdf.de, over 26,000 investigations into corona fraud have already been initiated since the beginning of the corona pandemic, with an estimated total loss of at least 600 million euros. Fraud when applying for Corona aid is often the focus. In a notable context, the investigation in Kassel appears to represent not just an isolated case, but could be a piece of the puzzle in a much broader fraud scandal.

In the past, the implementation of Corona aid had complex interpretations in the individual federal states, which led to chaotic situations when examining applications. While subsidy fraud is being uncovered all over the country, the judiciary is faced with the mammoth task of solving these cases over several years.

So far, the allegations have been rejected by the management of the Mulsano car dealership. Nevertheless, the results of the investigation so far show that this may be a large-scale money laundering operation that is not yet complete. The coming weeks will show whether other people responsible are involved in the machine of the money laundering fraud and what consequences this will have for the defendants.