German Authorities Seize €3.1 Million Over Suspicious Uzbekistan Money Transfer

German authorities have confiscated €3.1 million after the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU Deutschland) identified a suspicious financial transfer originating from Uzbekistan.

Zoll, Germany’s customs agency, announced that the FIU’s report prompted prosecutors in Mühlhausen and investigators from the Dresden Customs Investigation Office to launch an investigation into three individuals: two 55-year-old managing directors from Germany and Austria, along with a 48-year-old Georgian national.

In a LinkedIn post, Zoll stated that authorities suspect the accused of unlawfully exporting dual-use goods—items that have both civilian and military applications—without obtaining the necessary permits from the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control. “The shipments had been exported to Uzbekistan via the accused’s companies in 2023 and 2024 without the required permit,” Zoll said.

As part of their investigation, customs officials intercepted an export shipment bound for Uzbekistan at Leipzig-Halle Airport in January 2025, exercising preventive measures under the Customs Investigation Service Act.

Subsequently, authorities carried out extensive searches across ten residential and business premises in Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, and Saxony. Simultaneously, law enforcement officials in Graz, Austria, conducted additional searches as part of the case.

During these operations, officers seized various forms of evidence, including correspondence and electronic storage devices linked to the illicit exports. On one of the company’s properties, investigators discovered another machine intended for shipment to Uzbekistan, which had the capability to manufacture artillery and gun barrels.

Authorities secured €3.1 million through an asset seizure agreement as the investigation remains ongoing.

By fLEXI tEAM