Criminals from the province of Groningen have set up their own bank in the Alpine state of Liechtenstein. Money that was probably earned through drug trafficking was thus laundered. Interest-free loans were provided from Liechtenstein. According to the Newspaper of the North the existence of this financial holding is revealed in a bankruptcy report of a management and investment company from Groningen.
This company went bankrupt in March this year. The Public Prosecution Service Northern Netherlands has confirmed to the DvhN that the construction has come to light in a drug investigation in the province of Groningen.
The holding functioned like a bank with only a handful of customers. The owners of the institution in Liechtenstein also owned businesses and homes in the Netherlands. Several of them are seized. One of the founders of the holding is being prosecuted for drug trafficking.
Until 2014, Liechtenstein had a banking secrecy.
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