Overview
- Police searching dozens of sites in the Düsseldorf and Gelsenkirchen area Wednesday arrested a 42-year-old Bulgarian at his Düsseldorf home as the suspected head of the network.
- Foreign authorities in Bulgaria carried out simultaneous searches that led to additional arrests tied to the same case.
- Investigators say the group used shell companies and fake invoices to order leased cars, building materials, machinery and electronics, then resold the goods in Germany or abroad.
- Authorities estimate about €2.5 million in private-sector losses and roughly €2.8 million in losses to the public purse linked to the alleged fraud.
- Cologne prosecutors direct a joint team of police and customs that has run covert work since 2023 into 25 suspects on allegations of organized fraud, embezzlement, illegal work and money laundering.