On Tuesday morning, German police’s special agency against organised crime carried out coordinated raids in Berlin and Brandenburg on suspicion of tax fraud and money laundering. Officers raided several apartments belonging to members of an Arab clan who make money managing young German rappers, according to news reports.
On Tuesday morning the German police’s special agency raided a total of 18 properties and business premises in Berlin, Brandenburg and Switzerland. The police unit dedicated to fight organised crime consisted of 300 officers, detectives, special task force staff and tax inspectors. The prosecutor’s office in Berlin later confirmed that the raids targeted the apartments and studios of an Arab clan with interests in the German music industry on the well-founded suspicion of large-scale tax fraud and money laundering, according to Germany’s DPA news agency.
Police arrested four suspects and launched an investigation for “acts partly committed in a criminal organisation”, the prosecution said. Investigators have seized assets worth millions of euros during the raids.
The most popular pop music genres in Germany include hip-hop and rap. One of the most successful rap artists is Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi, known as Bushido, who has sold 2 million copies of his albums in the past twenty years. Another famous German rapper, Abou-Chaker, of Palestinian descent, is currently in pre-trial detention at the Berlin district court. He and his three brothers are charged with making threats with weapons, blackmail and other acts of violence against the Bushido clan.