Major campaign to fight organised crime

A €16m plan to fight organised crime was announced by home affairs minister Guusje ter Horst on Monday evening’s Netwerk tv programme.

The minister said she wants to set up 10 centres where police, the public prosecution service, local councils, tax authorities, the tax office and other investigation services can share and coordinate expertise.
The main aim is to prevent criminal groups operating from within legal businesses. One way of doing this is to make it difficult for criminals to launder money by buying property. Ter Horst says that €20bn a year is laundered in this way.
The centres will also tackle issues such as human trafficking and marijuana cultivation.
She did not say when the centres would be up and running, but said that as far as she was concerned cooperation along these lines could begin ‘tomorrow’.