As part of its efforts to fight legalization of illegal proceeds through purchase of real estate and movable property, the Economic Police department under the Latvian State Police discovered a group of four people, who had been purchasing luxury cars, paying in cash of unknown origin, between July and November this year.
They bought the cars from official dealers, paying in cash for the cars that have market value of at least €100,000 each. The vehicles then were registered as the property of fictitious companies which formally belong to individuals who turned out to be homeless people. Later the gang “officially” purchased the cars from those companies at a low price.
The suspects are three men - two in their late forties and one in his late fifties - as well as a woman in her late forties. One of the younger men and the woman have been kept in custody.
Several locations in the Riga region were searched during the investigation, and the police seized two luxury cars - a Mercedes and a BMW, about €100,000 in cash, some gold bars and a number of documents and electronic data carriers confirming the gang's relation to the fictitious companies.
A criminal proceeding has been opened over possible large-scale laundering of illegal proceeds in an organized group.
