The two brothers were laundering gold in Germany. These co-managers of a shop buying this precious metal, located on boulevard Magenta (Paris Xe) and one of their customers, were arrested on March 30, 2023 in Paris and Dugny (Seine-Saint-Denis) , by investigators from the Paris interministerial group (GIR 75). These two men are suspected of having, for six years between Paris and the suburbs of Stuttgart, laundered and concealed nearly 9 million euros in stolen gold.
In December 2022, investigators from the Paris judicial police receive information from their colleagues who pound the pavement in this very popular district of the capital. A source tells them that Sabri and Anouar, who have been running this black-fronted shop since 2010, engage in illegal activities.
One kilo of gold against 49,000 euros
These two men, aged 45 and 51, are known to buy jewelry or gold of dubious provenance from disreputable customers. Merchants pay cash without ever having their transaction appear on their police book. The items purchased are stored in a storage unit, located rue Eugene-Varlin (Xe), a few hundred meters from their business.
“Twice a month, they took the road to go to the ESG foundry in Germany and sell two kilos of gold there against around 100,000 euros in cash”, specifies a source close to the case.
The police place the two men under surveillance. Their movements are spied on and their telephone conversations intercepted. On March 1, Abderrahmane, 67, pushes the door of the shop to sell a one-kilo gold bar for the sum of 49,000 euros. This fellow with a bald head, without profession, is unfavorably known from the archives of the police. He pockets this sum in cash and the buyers leave no trace of this transaction.
A month later, the three men were arrested at their respective homes. During the searches, the agents seized 138,790 euros in cash and confiscated nearly 20,000 euros from a bank account. They also seized various gold objects worth 167,000 euros and an Xmax scooter.
Officials study the police book of the two traders and discover, unsurprisingly, that the hidden transactions are not recorded there. They check the accounts of the German foundry which reveal that since 2017, the two French customers have supplied them with nearly nine million in gold objects which have been melted down into ingots.
Full confession
The trio is placed in custody in the premises of the judicial police. Sabri and Anouar make full confessions, including concerning the transaction with the sexagenarian of Dugny. However, Abderrahmane denies having sold them this ingot. The research undertaken to try to identify the origin of the seized jewels proved to be in vain.
“They did not make it possible to determine if these parts had been stolen”, adds a source close to the file. The two brothers were brought before the Paris prosecutor’s office. The magistrate gave them a summons to be tried by the criminal court in May. They will appear at the same hearing as their bullion client. The two traders were released on bail.
