Former homeless man held in €12.6 million money laundering case

The 35-year-old man who was arrested last month in connection with one of the biggest money laundering cases in the Netherlands was identified as a recently homeless person originally from the country of Georgia. The case uncovered last month had police stumbling upon 12.6 million euros in cash hidden away in the Eindhoven residence where he was living, the authorities in the case alleged.

The man has claimed innocence and has remained silent about the origin of the exorbitant sum of cash, according to the newspaper De Telegraaf. He has claimed that he does not own the house in question and is leaning on his recent homelessness as proof that he had nothing to do with the money laundering scheme for which he as accused, the newspaper said.

He was arrested on May 1 when police and prosecutors raided a house in Eindhoven as part of the investigation. There, they discovered a colossal 12.580 million euros in cash, believed to be the second largest sum ever found in a single place during a criminal investigation, after a cocaine bust involving 12.8 million euros in cash topped the record in October last year.

The sum found in the Eindhoven house, which weighed approximately 255 kilograms, had been kept inside a hidden room in paper bills using all denominations up to 500 euro notes. Two firearms, ammunition and a money counter were also seized in the incident, the police confirmed at the time.

The Georgian man was ordered to remain behind bars at least for 90 days of pre-trial detention on May 13, according to ED.nl. At the time, the local newspaper said police in the case believe the find to be connected to drug dealing, and were investigating if the suspect was acting as a bank teller for the criminal underworld.