Nineteen people have now been arrested worldwide in connection with the investigation into the embezzlement of €61 million from the Caritas Foundation, the Luxembourg public prosecutor's office announced on Friday.
According to the press release, the investigation has entered a fourth phase. Investigators initially examined the scale of the losses and activities in Luxembourg before turning to Spanish bank accounts allegedly used to launder the money.
This led to the arrest and charging of the foundation’s former financial director and nine suspected money mules, the press release stated.
The prosecutor's office said coordinated operations in England, Bulgaria, France, and Italy subsequently resulted in three European arrest warrants being executed. One suspect has been transferred to Luxembourg, while surrender proceedings remain ongoing for the other two.
As indicated in the release, a 41-year-old woman arrested in Rome in early June is suspected of playing a central role in laundering the embezzled funds. A further suspect arrested in France has already been extradited to Luxembourg and formally charged, the prosecutor's office stated.
Luxembourg officers also assisted French police in Nice on 17 June with three additional European arrest warrants. The prosecutor's office said the investigation had benefited from cooperation with foreign authorities, Eurojust and the Financial Intelligence Unit.
Two further suspects linked to the fraud or alleged laundering network are currently being held for unrelated reasons in Spain and France, according to the press release.
Since the judicial investigation began, the investigating judge has issued 81 requests for international legal assistance across 17 countries, while 93 police reports have been submitted.
The investigation remains ongoing. The prosecutor's office stressed that all those arrested or implicated are presumed innocent until convicted by a final court judgment.
