Seine-Saint-Denis: A Moroccan suspected of having recycled several million euros

The main suspect and his accomplices were arrested on May 26 in Aulnay-sous-Bois, Saint-Denis and Roissy-en-France (Val-d’Oise). Mohamed Q. is accused of having laundered millions of euros through shell companies and straw men. He was remanded in custody, while his three accomplices were released under judicial supervision, according to Le Parisien. During the searches, three stolen luxury watches were found at his home and 5.2 million euros were seized from the accounts of companies that would belong to him.

The case dates back to late 2022, when investigators from the Paris financial research and investigation brigade (BRIF) began to take an interest in Mohamed Q., a member of a well-known family from the Beaudottes housing project. The investigators placed the Franco-Moroccan under surveillance and wiretapping, discovering that the accused had set up a well-oiled money laundering system through energy renovation companies managed by straw men. "He holds a fictitious job in one of these structures," confides a source close to the case.

The analysis of his bank accounts revealed the investments made by Mohamed Q. with funds of suspicious origin. The forty-year-old invested 500,000 euros in a property in Aulnay-sous-Bois, and a similar amount in Morocco. The investigators also note a placement of 1.9 million euros in various businesses in Aulnay and Sevran. The accused is also the owner of a car garage where he carries out an illegal car rental activity, as well as the "taxiphone" shop in the neighborhood, which serves as his main office and warehouse.