Since at least 2018, a criminal network connected to the cocaine trade has acquired or brokered hundreds of homes in Amsterdam through mortgage fraud, according
to a recent report. The Amsterdam authorities uncovered this scheme last year during an investigation into drug hiding places. The homes are used to store drugs, serve as safe houses for criminals, and house migrant workers, the Amsterdam police and Public Prosecution Service (OM) told the Financieele Dagblad.
Detectives stumbled upon the criminal network while investigating builders of hidden drug spaces, a financial crime team leader from the Amsterdam police, who requested anonymity, told FD. “During that investigation, we came across a real estate agent who offered warehouses and homes to the drug world.” A subsequent investigation revealed that this realtor was the central figure in a criminal organization specializing in mortgage fraud, the detective said.
The criminal network included the real estate agent, mortgage advisors, and administration officers. They created false employer statements, fake salary slips, and inflated companies’ annual accounts to deceive banks. “We even saw fictitious monthly wage payments made to the applicants’ bank accounts,” the detective said. “Anything to give the mortgage lender the illusion that the customer had a well-paid job.” The network charged 7,000 to 12,000 euros per mortgage in addition to the brokerage and commission fees paid by the customer to the broker and mortgage advisor.
According to the police, this criminal network secured dozens of mortgages using false documents in 2023. The police believe this is just the tip of the iceberg, as the group has been operating on a large scale since at least 2018.
The police identified six mortgage advisors involved in the criminal organization. On average, they submitted forged mortgage applications twice a month. Since 2018, this amounts to at least 800 mortgages arranged with falsified documents. That’s 800 homes removed from the Amsterdam housing market during a time of severe housing shortage in the Netherlands. “The fraud also affects ordinary citizens who did comply with the rules and saw homes pass them by,” Amsterdam prosecutor Ursula Weitzel told the newspaper.
In May, the police arrested ten people as part of this investigation. Since then, investigators have identified another 12 suspects. All of them work in real estate, administration offices, or as mortgage advisors. They are suspected of fraud, forgery, and money laundering.