Dutch authorities seized €368 million in 2021 criminal cases

The Dutch authorities seized 368 million euros in criminal money and assets last year, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) announced on Thursday. That is a significant increase to the 303 million euros seized in 2020 and 258 million euros in 2019.

The number of money laundering investigations increased from 4,354 to 5,820. According to the OM, this increase in investigations into inexplicably acquired assets "frustrates criminal activities in a very efficient way."

The OM noted that the amount in cryptocurrency seized increased significantly. The authorities confiscated 34.6 million euros in cryptocurrency last year, compared to 8.3 million euros in 2020 and 1.1 million euros in 2019. Another major contributor to the total seized assets is over 100 million euros the FIOD seized in an investigation into illegal gambling.

The OM attributed the increase in seized criminal assets to better cooperation between the different investigative services like the OM, the police, and the FIOD - the Tax Authority's investigative department. The Financial Intelligence Unite also helped a lot in reporting unusual transactions, the OM said.

This year, the Dutch authorities plan to focus on digital money flows, enabling more efficient information sharing between the different investigative series, and speeding up the processing of criminal investigations, the OM said.