Today the Financial Investigations Office (BFO) of the Aruba Police Force (KPA) carried out a targeted operation in the context of the ongoing financial investigation ‘Venkel’. This was done in close cooperation with other departments of the KPA and the Investigation Cooperation Team (RST). Four suspects were arrested and two homes and three business premises were searched. Various data storage devices, large amounts of cash and cars were seized.
The suspects are suspected of jointly laundering large sums of money via cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are digital money in which storage and transactions take place over a network of computers, without oversight by banks. Because transactions are often anonymous and can cross borders, it is more difficult to trace the origin of funds. This technology can be abused to move criminal proceeds out of sight of service providers and authorities, thereby concealing illegal proceeds.
The Public Prosecution Service regards money laundering as one of the pillars of undermining criminality. After all, laundering is not only a financial offence but the engine of organised crime. Without the ability to use their illegal proceeds, criminals lose their main motive: money. Combating money laundering is therefore not only a fight against numbers on a bank account or a computer, but against the whole infrastructure of the criminal underworld.
The Public Prosecution Service works closely with other partners to combat money laundering effectively. Today’s operation underlines that criminal money flows, however sophisticated, do not remain out of reach of the police.
Press release Public Prosecution Service