FLYING MONEY 2018 INVESTIGATING ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS IN THE CITY
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Angeles, the price comes to 19,000 dollars, and it is finally sold on the street (cut with other substances) for 122,000 dollars per kilo.29 The large sums of money that are available in the illegal world leave officials in public administration susceptible to corruption. It is known that customs officials working at the Port of Rotterdam used their key position to allow containers of cocaine through in exchange for a huge amount of money. Within the police world, moles have operated who leak crucial information to friendly contacts from the criminal scene. There are also examples of corruption in local government, such as the sale of personal data from public registers, bargaining with permits, or turning a blind eye to the delivery of drugs waste (from cannabis) in return for payment.
Consumption-related spending
The distinction between spending to maintain the criminal system and spending on consumption is not always clear-cut. Some chemicals, for example, can be bought in regular shops because they are also used for all kinds of home, garden and kitchen-related activities. Or take the example of the special lamps that are needed on cannabis farms: a company like Philips has profited substantially from this for years. It is useful to have a rental car for criminal activities, rather than use one’s own. Rental cars provide a certain degree of anonymity. Until recently, a city like Tilburg was home to a large number of car rental companies; many more than could be profitable in a city of this size. When the government shone a spotlight on the industry, more than ten of the car rental companies disappeared in a short period. Research shows that several years ago, around 2,500 people in Tilburg and the surrounding area were actively involved in cannabis production. The turnover from cannabis was estimated at around 800 million euros. Criminals and their accomplices spend part of their money directly on ‘conspicuous consumption,’ which adds significantly to their and their associates’ enjoyment of life. They have to be more careful now than they were in the past; overly conspicuous spending, such as buying expensive cars, has to be reported as possibly suspicious transactions. Not that this always happens, but it does induce a degree of restraint. In principle, all lines of business where considerable sums can still be paid in cash are attractive: expensive clothes shops, restaurants, travel agencies, furniture stores, kitchen companies, etc., etc. This is a crucial source of income for these sectors, certainly in times of economic crisis. Take the example of that large hotel in Amsterdam where someone – we are referring to 2016 – booked a party for forty people. The bill came to 20,000 euros and was settled that same evening; in cash.30
Long-term investments
Finally, part of the dirty money is used to make long-term investments in the Netherlands or beyond (especially in Turkey, Morocco and Southern Spain). Real estate and, more particularly, the trade in real estate, lends itself to the long-term and profitable investment of dirty/criminal money.31 Amsterdam’s police force, for example, recently warned that criminals would invest
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B. Kilmer, & P. Reuter, ‘Prime Numbers: Doped. The Disaster Drugs: Heroin and Cocaine’, Foreign Policy, 16 October 2009, https://foreignpolicy. com/2009/10/16/prime-numbers-doped/. Pieter Tops & Jan Tromp, De Achterkant van Nederland: Hoe Onder- en Bovenwereld Verstrengeld Raken, Amsterdam: Balans, 2017.
Projectgroep Emergo, De Gezamenlijke Aanpak van de Zware (Georganiseerde) Misdaad in het Hart van Amsterdam, Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Boom, 2011.