At the end of May, police in Sevran and several other towns across the Île-de-France region arrested four individuals suspected of running a large-scale money laundering operation. At the center of the case is Mohamed Q., a 42-year-old French-Moroccan from the Beaudottes neighborhood in Seine-Saint-Denis, near Paris, who is already known to law enforcement. He has been placed in pre-trial detention, while the three other suspects, aged between 39 and 40, were released under judicial supervision, according to Le Parisien. The investigation, launched in late 2022 by the Paris financial crime unit, identified him as a local entrepreneur who allegedly used a network of shell companies to mask suspicious financial flows. He is also believed to have recruited front men to appear as the official heads of the companies, while retaining control behind the scenes. His ventures reportedly included a garage, a real estate agency, a phone shop known as a «taxiphone», and an unlicensed car rental service, all of which are suspected of being used to channel or conceal illicit funds, often through cash transactions. During searches carried out at the time of the arrests, authorities seized €5.2 million from accounts linked to these businesses, along with various high-value goods. Investigators also uncovered real estate investments, including one in Morocco. According to authorities, Mohamed Q.'s lavish lifestyle far exceeded what his declared income could justify. The suspects have remained silent or given inconsistent statements during police custody, offering little cooperation. The investigation is ongoing to clarify the links between the companies, the money transfers, and any possible ties to drug trafficking.
