The trail of the allegedly embezzled money has long stretched far beyond Luxembourg. On the morning of June 17, investigators from the FAME (“Formation, appui et méthodologie Eco/Fin”) section of the Luxembourg criminal police accompanied colleagues in Nice in the execution of three more European arrest warrants. The Luxembourg public prosecutor’s office wrote this in a press release on Friday.
Suspected key figure arrested in Italy
Another arrest in Rome marked a new moment in the Caritas affair: The 41-year-old woman is said to have played a central role in the alleged money laundering. It was apprehended in collaboration with the FAST service of the Grand Ducal Police and FAST Italy (Fugitive Active Search Team). The Tageblatt reported about it on June 7th.
Another person was arrested in France on the basis of a Luxembourg European arrest warrant and has already been transferred to Luxembourg and charged by the investigating judge.
Three European arrest warrants executed
The investigation into the Caritas affair has now entered a fourth phase, as the Luxembourg public prosecutor writes. Initially, the investigators primarily examined the extent of the damage and what was happening in the Grand Duchy. The focus then came to owners of Spanish accounts through which embezzled sums were said to have been distributed. In this context, the finance director of the Fondation Caritas and nine people were arrested and accused of acting as so-called “money mules”. The arrests were made on the orders of the investigating judge.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, there were later coordinated actions in several countries. Under the direction of the Luxembourg investigating judge, three European arrest warrants were executed in England, Bulgaria, France and Italy. One of the arrested people has now been handed over to Luxembourg. The handover process for two others is still ongoing.
Already in custody
In total, 19 people have been arrested worldwide in connection with the affair on the basis of international arrest warrants.
In addition, two other suspects – who could be involved in the Caritas fraud – are already in custody in Spain and France for other reasons.
17 countries, 93 reports
The million-dollar fraud at Luxembourg’s Caritas shook the country’s social sector in 2024. A total of 61 million euros had disappeared from the non-profit organization’s accounts through several hundred transfers. Numerous employees could no longer be paid and feared for their jobs.
Since the beginning of the judicial investigation, 81 international requests for legal assistance or mutual legal assistance commissions have been made in 17 countries, writes the public prosecutor’s office. The investigating judge has 93 reports from the criminal police.
However, the public prosecutor’s office recalls that the principle of presumption of innocence applies to all arrested or accused persons until a possible conviction. (We)
