FLASH NEWS
Investigation into Albanian from Saranda leads to Louis Vuitton being fined half a million euros
2026-02-14 18:51:57 / AKTUALITET
Prosecutors have fined the Dutch branch of luxury brand Louis Vuitton 500,000 euros for violating the Act on the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism.
The role of Louis Vuitton BV was revealed during a wider money laundering investigation led by the National Public Prosecutor's Office.
According to investigations, the company had for a long period not properly checked the identities of customers who repeatedly made large purchases in cash.
“The case is being resolved through a criminal order to relieve pressure on the limited courtroom capacity at the Rotterdam District Court,” prosecutors said in a statement.
The investigation began with a case involving a convicted criminal, 55-year-old Albanian from Saranda, Thanas Bako, who had collected a large amount of criminal proceeds for money laundering.
Prosecutors said a 36-year-old woman from Lelystad then used that money to buy luxury items at stores, including Louis Vuitton, using multiple aliases.
Authorities suspect that between August 2021 and February 2023, the woman, identified as Bei W., spent over 2 million euros in illicit money. She allegedly shipped the luxury handbags to China in cardboard boxes to resell, disguising the proceeds as legitimate trade.
“This practice, known as ‘Daigou’ trade, is a method of transferring criminal funds through luxury items. Evidence includes chat messages, receipts and security camera footage,” prosecutors said. Investigators also found boxes at her home prepared for shipment to China.
The scheme is said to have been facilitated by an insider. A former Louis Vuitton sales assistant is alleged to have helped W., notifying her of new arrivals of expensive handbags and advising her on splitting purchases to avoid legal reporting requirements.
W. used a deliberate strategy to avoid detection, keeping each cash payment just under 10,000 euros, the reporting threshold that retailers must notify the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) by early 2026. She also used multiple aliases and email addresses to hide her repeated purchases at four official Louis Vuitton locations in the Netherlands.
From January 1, 2026, Dutch law prohibits merchants from accepting cash payments over 3,000 euros. Prosecutors point out that luxury brands have the same obligation as banks to verify customers under the rules against money laundering and terrorist financing (Wwft).
Ndërsa Louis Vuitton e zgjidhi çështjen me një gjobë prej 500,000 eurosh, gjyqi kundër gruas 36-vjeçare, ish-anëtarit të stafit dhe një të pandehuri të tretë vazhdon ende në Gjykatën e Qarkut të Roterdamit.
Kush është Thanas Bako
Thanas Bako u dënua me 7 vjet burg në shtator 2024 nga një gjykatë në Roterdam. Ai akuzohet si bankier kriminal i nëndheshëm i qindra milionë eurove dhe ishte i përfshirë në "forma të rënda të krimit të organizuar", sipas gjykatës.
Bako u arrestua në Athinë më 31 maj të vitit të kaluar me kërkesë të Holandës dhe ndodhet në një qeli holandeze për më shumë se një vit. Ai thuhet se ka udhëhequr një rrjet korrierësh në Holandë nëpërmjet komunikimeve kripto, duke lëvizur pothuajse një çerek miliardë euro për kriminelët midis qershorit 2020 dhe marsit 2021.
Rrjeti funksiononte nga zyra të ndryshme në Holandë, përfshirë Wateringen dhe Amsterdam. Anëtarët e rrjetit të korrierëve u dënuan me vite burg në fillim të këtij viti.
Europoli e konsideron Thanas Bakon si “një pastrues të njohur parash, që pastronte paratë e pista të kriminelëve më të mëdhenj në botë”. Ai u arrestua pas një hetimi të FBI-së, pas zbulimit të komunikimeve të tij në aplikacionin “ANOM”, ku vepronte me porosi të trafikantëve në Dubai dhe Holandë për të transferuar miliona euro nga një vend në tjetrin.
Bako thuhet se ka menaxhuar korrierë parash në Holandë nga Athina. Korrierët punonin si hidraulikë, marangozë dhe pastrues xhamash, zakonisht me precedentë të pastër penalë për të mos u vënë re. Për një tarifë të madhe, ata përdorën furgonët e tyre për të transportuar para drejt dhe nga klientët kriminelë.
Policia monitoroi korrierët ndërsa merrnin dhe dorëzonin çanta me para. Sipas Prokurorisë Publike, nën drejtimin e Thanas Bakos u mbledhën gjithsej mbi 246 milionë euro dhe u paguan rreth 248 milionë euro.
Për të vërtetuar se paratë janë transferuar realisht, përdoren ‘tokenët’. Kjo mund të jetë, për shembull, një kartëmonedhë 5 euro me një numër serial unik. Vetëm personi që posedon këtë shënim mund të mbledhë ose dorëzojë paratë.
Sipas Prokurorisë, banka nëntokësore e Thanas Bakos kishte dy “zyra”. Këto ishin magazina në Wateringen dhe Nieuw-Vennep ku paratë u numëruan dhe u fshehën.
Mesazhet e përgjuara tregojnë se Bako mbante shënim hyrjet dhe daljet e parave dhe komunikonte me kontaktet e tij për çdo pagesë që duhej “mbledhur” dhe “dorëzuar”.
Sipas dokumentarit të “Holland Crime Boulevard”, Thanas Bako kishte krijuar prej 10 vitesh një rrjet korrierësh për transport parash. Korrierët kryesisht ishin hidraulikë, marangozë dhe pastrues xhamash, të cilët nuk ngacmoheshin nga policia sepse dukeshin të padëmshëm. Furgonët kishin vende të fshehura për paratë. Prioritet për Bakon ishte që korrierët të mos kishin rekorde kriminale, pasi policia mund të identifikonte pronarin përmes targës së makinës.
Customer: “I have a shipment for 2 million euros. I want to split it into 2 for safety. Two different couriers, they can't know. Both in the same place. 12:00 one car, 12:10 another.”
Thanas Bako: “I'll make the difference 30 minutes, it's better. One guy doesn't beat the other. One 12:00, the other 12:30. Two cars. This is safer for me.”
A rough location is discussed and Thanas sends two couriers there. Only at the last minute does the client indicate the exact location where the money will be picked up. It was a restaurant called “Bruis” in Blaricum. While people were eating lunch, 1 million euros were transferred twice to each of the cars in the parking lot. An hour after the money was picked up, one of the couriers sends Thanas a message:
Courier: “Hello, friend, I just arrived. I'll count the money now.”
Thanas Bako: “Thank you.”
Other messages indicate the percentage the courier receives:
Thanas: “0.2% commission. Transport worth 1 million will yield 2,000 euros.”
Courier: “Very good. I am determined to do my best.”
Thanas: “That is what I want to hear.”
Event dated 23.02.2021
Two brothers in two separate vans drive to a warehouse. One goes inside, the other parks outside. They did not notice a van parked in front of them. The driver who parked outside attempted to enter the warehouse, but was kicked by a masked man. Two other men took the brothers hostage, forcing them to enter the warehouse office and give them what the hostage-takers wanted. They searched the warehouse and one of the vans, but found nothing. The hostage-takers’ gray van, a Renault with license plates FN-615-ZM, was later found. They had removed the license plates and tried to burn it, but failed. A police officer, speaking on an investigative show, said that the victims did not understand why they had been taken hostage; they were innocent and the hostage-takers were in the wrong place. However, the victims knew what the hostage-takers wanted – millions of euros for Thanas Bako. The warehouse served as one of the money collection points. A person who later rented it said that everything was well secured, with cameras and alarms, and insulated walls. The goal was to count 165,718,500 euros without the noise of money counters running for hours. This was one of two locations that Thanas Bako used for his “bank.” His two most trusted couriers carried out 200 transactions to create the total amount, with an average of 828,000 euros per transaction.
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