Three arrested for stealing millions in large-scale embezzlement scheme

The FIOD arrested a 37-year-old woman and two men, 31 and 39, from Tiel and Oosterhout on Tuesday on suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering. The woman is also accused of offering investment services without a license, fraud, and forgery. According to the Tax Authority’s investigative department, they stole millions by failing to invest money entrusted to them.

The Dutch Authority on Financial Markets (AFM) reported this “extensive investment fraud” to the FIOD following multiple reports from consumers. Victims reported investing money with the woman and never seeing anything in return. The AFM found that she had no license to provide investment services.

The FIOD launched an investigation and found that the suspected woman offered investments through Best Choice, Airfeet BV, and Xerox BV, promising yields of 10 to 12 percent per month. She told victims that she could achieve this return by trading the exchange rate difference between the dollar and gold. She promised investors a 200 percent annual return on their investments.

“In less than two years, she raised over 56 million euros from investors,” the FIOD said. “A significant part of the investment funds was probably not spent on the promised investments, but was used for private spendings such as homes, luxury cars, expensive horses, and cryptocurrencies.”

According to the investigators, the suspects used fraud, false invoices, and a network of companies for their embezzlement and money laundering. The FIOD raided the suspects’ homes and seized homes, bank accounts, horses, cars, luxury goods, cash, gold, and jewelry.

The investigation is ongoing. The FIOD called on existing and potential clients of Best Choice, Airfeet BV, and Xerof BV not to give these companies any money and to come forward if they already have.