German prosecutors search finance, justice ministries in money laundering probe

German prosecutors said on Thursday they had seized documents at the finance and justice ministries as part of an investigation into possible obstruction of justice by a government agency that is responsible for investigating money laundering.

Report informs, citing foreign media, that prosecutors said in a statement they had been investigating the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) since 2020 because the agency had not forwarded reports made by banks of possible money laundering to the police and the judiciary.

The investigation was triggered after a bank reported to the FIU suspicious payments to Africa of more than 1 million euros ($1.18 million), that the bank believed might be linked to trafficking of arms and drugs and terrorism financing.