When the topic of money-laundering comes up, most people nowadays automatically think of banks. However, private individuals can be just as creative in this field, it seems.
The Danish state prosecutor for economic and international crime, Statsadvokaten for Særlig Økonomisk og International Kriminalitet (SØIK), has just announce that a 45-year-old woman has been remanded in custody for four weeks charged with laundering around 105 million kroner.
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Changes in the law that came into effect last July laid the foundation for the charges, and the woman holds the somewhat dubious honour of being the first person to be charged under the new legal regime.
Getting tougher on economic crime
“This is the first time we’ve used the new legal paragraphs that give us a markedly more effective weapon in our fight against money-laundering,” said Thomas Anderskov Riis, a police inspector from SØIK.
The prosecutor contends that the accused, over a period of 18 months, made fictitious transactions between a number of companies and non-existent customers abroad.
As well as money-laundering, the woman has been charged with attempting to sell stolen goods for over 100 million kroner. Two other men involved in the case have been released after being charged.
The police and prosecutors have elected to hear the case ‘in camera’ in order to facilitate their investigations.
SØIK also emphasised that there is still some way to go in the case, and it has not yet been possible to determine whether criminal charges will ultimately be brought.
