The Dutch prosecutor's office has fined the local branch of the fashion house Louis Vuitton 500,000 euros for violating the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
The company, over a long period of time, did not sufficiently check its customers, who repeatedly made large cash purchases, thus violating the “know your customer“ principle, a mandatory element of the legislation to combat money laundering. The case was settled out of court – through a so-called. punitive fine – due to the excessive workload of the Dutch judicial system.
According to law enforcement authorities, the main suspect, a 36-year-old resident of Lelystad, spent more than EUR 2 million of criminally acquired funds on luxury goods, including at Louis Vuitton boutiques, between August 2021 and February 2023. The purchased bags were shipped abroad in ordinary cardboard boxes for resale, disguising the origin of the funds as legitimate trade. This scheme is often used to launder money through the purchase of luxury goods. Prosecutors cite correspondence, receipts and CCTV footage as evidence.
The case also involves two other suspects: a woman who helped the customer with transactions and accounting, and a former employee of a Louis Vuitton store in the Netherlands. According to investigators, he helped the client with her shopping, informed her of the arrival of expensive handbags and warned her about cases in which the expenses on one of her accounts could exceed EUR 10,000 per month. Until 2026, companies were obliged to report suspicious cash transactions of EUR 10,000 or more, including related payments. Since the beginning of this year, The Netherlands has banned the acceptance of cash payments exceeding EUR 3,000.
The criminal investigation against three suspects is ongoing. A court date has not yet been set.