A gang is said to have sold residence permits in Germany on a large scale, especially to Chinese people, for a lot of money. Now the federal police have struck - also with banknote sniffing dogs.
Düsseldorf - The lure was advertising for a “world-class health system” and the best education: With a major raid in eight federal states, the police dismantled an international smuggling gang that particularly specialized in rich people from China and Oman.
More than 1,000 officers searched more than 100 apartments, business premises and government offices on Wednesday and arrested ten suspects. Arranging a residence permit in individual cases cost up to 360,000 euros, as Hendrik Timmer, the public prosecutor in charge of the investigation in Düsseldorf, said. The target is 38 suspected gang members and 147 people who are said to have been trafficked. If you include family members who were brought later, there are around 350 mostly Chinese nationals, it said.
Advertising for Germany on the Internet
According to the Federal Police, a total of eleven arrest warrants were issued, ten of which were executed primarily in Cologne. One person is still being searched for. Six accused have already been brought before the judge. According to the Düren district, among them is an employee of the local district administration. There were also arrest warrants against lawyers and employees of their law firms. The main suspects are two 42 and 46 year old lawyers from the Cologne area. The accusation is of gang and commercial smuggling of foreigners as well as bribery and corruption of employees of local authorities. Commercial smuggling carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
According to the investigators, the financially strong foreigners - including from South Africa and India - were recruited via a so-called “residency program” on the Internet. Not only was Germany's health and education system advertised there, but German citizenship was also promised. Special rules of the Residence Act for the self-employed and skilled workers were exploited.
False home address even in an elite boarding school
The whereabouts of the majority of the 147 people trafficked by the gang are currently unknown, said Timmer. You could be in the countries of origin, but also have a permanent residence in Germany. One of the supposed apartments was also an elite boarding school near Konstanz, “where royal children also go to school,” said Timmer. “In fact, not only was the child registered there, but also the father as the main applicant - of course he doesn’t live there.”
According to the investigators, the smuggled people wanted to “take advantage of the advantages of the German social, health and education state. Maybe some of them would have wanted to spend their retirement in Europe. If the smuggled people are found, their fraudulent residence permit will be invalid. As long as they are listed as defendants and the criminal proceedings are ongoing, the deportation will be suspended. The investigators are still hoping for witness statements from them.
The investigation was carried out under the name “Investor” because those who were allegedly trafficked criminally wanted to make investments in companies or real estate in Germany. The total price of the smuggling could be up to 360,000 euros. The main suspects are suspected of using the funds to set up fake companies, finance alleged residences and fake wage payments, among other things. In addition, “consultancy fees” of up to 40,000 euros had to be paid to the law firms, as the investigators used an example.
Smuggling for years
In addition, false residences were applied for in order to be able to obtain a residence permit. Once the smuggling price was paid, the law firm contacted foreign missions - such as German consulates in Shanghai and Canton - and had travel visas issued. According to the investigators, the residence permits were then obtained from the North Rhine-Westphalian immigration offices in the cities of Kerpen and Solingen as well as the districts of Rhein-Erft and Düren.
According to investigators, the gang-like smuggling of rich foreigners into Germany had been going on for several years. The origin of the investigation was a tip from the German consulate in Canton in China as well as numerous reports of suspected money laundering by banks. The investigation was started in 2020, but some of the crimes occurred in 2016/2017.
Almost 300 bank accounts blocked
According to investigators, 269 bank accounts were seized, 31 properties were secured and around 450,000 euros in cash were seized, as well as two high-quality vehicles and a truckload of files. A total of 25 asset seizures amounting to 33 million euros were carried out, said police director Olaf Sacherer of the Federal Police.
Search warrants were executed in numerous municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Freiburg, Hamburg, Munich and other cities. In addition to the office and the living quarters of the main accused, the target was also the alleged offices of the dummy companies and supposed residences - including two castles in the Eifel. The immigration offices concerned are also the subject of the investigation. Banknote detection dogs were also used.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said of the raids: “Now it is important to examine all the backgrounds and put a stop to these organized crime structures.” In the fight against smuggling gangs, “this high level of investigative pressure and this consistent crackdown” are needed. NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) said: “This is a good and important success in the investigation against a gang that wants to fill its pockets with residence permits.”
In 2022, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Police registered 4,936 cases of smuggling across Germany - an increase of almost 30 percent compared to the previous year. The background is the sharp increase in irregular migration to Europe. The current smuggling crime situation report from 2022 states that the perpetrators are acting “very professionally and flexibly” and that there is also an increasing willingness to take risks. dpa