Prosecutors have fined the Dutch branch of luxury brand Louis Vuitton 500,000 euros for violating the Act on the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism. Louis Vuitton BV emerged as a suspect during a wider money laundering investigation led by the National Public Prosecutor's Office.
Over an extended period, the company failed to properly check the identities of customers who repeatedly made large cash purchases. “The case is being resolved through a criminal injunction to relieve pressure on the limited courtroom capacity at the Rotterdam District Court,” prosecutors said in a statement.
The investigation begins with a case involving a convicted criminal, 55-year-old Albanian from Saranda, Thanas Bako, who collected large amounts of criminal proceeds for money laundering.
Prosecutors say a 36-year-old woman from Lelystad then used that money to buy luxury items at stores, including Louis Vuitton, using multiple aliases.
Authorities suspect that between August 2021 and February 2023, the woman, identified as Bei W., spent over 2 million euros in illicit funds. She allegedly shipped the luxury handbags to China in cardboard boxes to resell, disguising the proceeds as legitimate trade.
"This practice, known as 'Daigou' trade, is a method of transferring criminal funds through luxury items. Evidence includes chat messages, receipts and security camera footage," prosecutors said. Investigators also found boxes at her home prepared for shipment to China.
The scheme was allegedly facilitated by an insider. A former Louis Vuitton sales assistant allegedly helped W. by notifying her of new arrivals of expensive handbags and advising her on splitting purchases to avoid triggering legal reporting requirements.
From January 1, 2026, Dutch law prohibits merchants from accepting cash payments of 3,000 euros or more. Prosecutors point out that luxury brands have the same obligation as banks to verify their customers under the country's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing (Wwft) rules.
While Louis Vuitton settled the case with a fine of 500,000 euros, the trial against the 36-year-old woman, the former staff member and a third defendant is still ongoing at the Rotterdam District Court.
Who is Thanas Bako?
Thanas Bako was sentenced to 7 years in prison in September 2024 by a court in Rotterdam. He is accused of being a criminal banker who embezzled hundreds of millions of euros and was involved in "serious forms of organized crime," according to the court.
Bako was arrested in Athens on May 31 last year at the request of the Netherlands and has now been in a Dutch cell for over a year. He is said to have led a network of couriers in the Netherlands via crypto communications, which moved almost a quarter of a billion euros in cash for criminals. This would have happened in the period between June 2020 and March 2021.
The network is said to have operated from various offices in the Netherlands, including Wateringen and Amsterdam. Members of the courier network were sentenced to years in prison earlier this year.
