Money launderers annually wash €13 billion in the Netherlands

Every year around 13 billion euros of criminal money is laundered in the Netherlands, according to a study by Brigitte Unger, Professor of Economics at Utrecht University. Laundered criminal money accounts for around 1.6 percent of the Dutch economy, she concluded,Financieele Dagblad reports.

The majority of this laundered criminal money comes from the Netherlands itself. Criminals earn around 16 billion euros in the Netherlands through their criminal practices per year. About half of that amount is also laundered in the Netherlands.

The remaining 5 billion euros comes from abroad, according to Unger. Over 4 billion euros of the money laundered in the Netherlands flows to other countries.

Unger conducted this study in collaboration with think tank for criminal and inexplicable wealth iCOV. This think tank is a collaboration between the police, the Public Prosecution Service, the Tax Authority, and financial intelligence unite FIU Nederland. The professor had access to transaction reports from banks and casinos for her research.