Bild: Belarusian money laundered in Germany

Flows of dirty money to Germany have recently increased.

The news was spread by Berlin-based Bild with a link to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), Radio Svaboda reports.

About 13,000 cases were opened in 2011 in connection with money laundering, which exceeds the number of similar cases in 2010 by 17%.

The federal agencies think it is the highest level ever since the adoption of the Money Laundering Act in 1993.

According to the leading European expert on the issue, Friedrich Schneider from University of Linz (Austria), “most of criminal money goes to Germany from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine”.

The report, which is expected to be presented by BKA and BaFIn in Wiesbaden on October 29, describes numerous frauds when people use bank accounts to launder money. The report says real estate markets, restaurant business and casinos are often used for these purposes.