FLASH
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The Zurich prosecutor's office is intensifying investigations into organized crime and money laundering, while facing a significant increase in the number of criminal cases...
The prosecution is facing an overload from the large number of cases. A new temporary department is expected to help reduce the number of unsolved proceedings. The operation was specifically directed against high-level figures of organized crime. At the end of April, as part of a coordinated international action, investigators carried out a crackdown against the Nigerian criminal network “Black Axe”, which has expanded significantly in Switzerland in recent years.
During the large-scale operation, investigators arrested a total of ten men aged between 32 and 54. Among those arrested was the regional manager of “Black Axe” for Southern Europe. The ten are suspected of having benefited from millions in cyber fraud and then laundered this money.
This raid is just one of many examples that show how organized crime operates in Switzerland. For this reason, Zurich prosecutors aim to intensify the fight against mafia networks and rely on the motto "Follow the money." According to them, money is the connecting thread of many crimes and often the key to solving them.
Susanne Leu, the chief prosecutor of the canton of Zurich, said on Friday during the prosecutor's office's annual press conference: "Money is the engine of organized crime." Anyone who makes money through crime then tries to return it to legal circulation. Only laundered money is of value to criminal syndicates. For this reason, drug cartels, the mafia and other criminal organizations invest enormous efforts in laundering their illegal profits.
According to Susanne Leu, this is where the fight against crime should focus. Cracking down on money laundering structures can severely damage these criminal groups. Many criminal networks use companies that appear to operate legally, but which use accounting manipulation to transfer dirty money. These are businesses that usually handle large amounts of money, such as restaurants or used car dealerships.
The way it works is illustrated by the case of a Turkish merchant in the Langstrasse district of Zurich. In a small, ordinary supermarket he sold food products, fruit, vegetables and everyday goods. But he also carried out another activity: money laundering for organized crime. For his criminal clients, he transferred several million francs to wanted persons abroad.
Over 1200 money laundering cases per year
Zurich's top prosecutor, David Zogg, said that organized crime threatens the foundations of social welfare in Switzerland. According to him, money is the main driver of mafia networks. "By fighting these structures, we are hitting the organizers and criminal networks and ensuring that crime does not bring profit," he said.
More than 1,200 money laundering cases are conducted in the canton of Zurich every year. Investigators seize tens of millions of francs worth of dirty money. However, this is thought to be only a small fraction of the sums that criminal networks generate in Switzerland.
An example is cocaine trafficking. In Switzerland, around 5 to 10 tons of cocaine are consumed every year. From the sale of these quantities alone, criminal networks profit between 100 and 300 million francs. This cash must then be laundered and put into legal structures to be transferred to the organizers. In addition to drug trafficking, these networks are also active in various frauds, human trafficking and arms sales.
Money laundering cases constitute only a small part of the investigations handled by the prosecution. During 2025, around 43,500 new cases were registered, 700 more than the previous year. This has led to a further increase in the number of unsolved files. The total number of open proceedings increased by 6.5 percent, exceeding 12,800 cases.
According to Chief Prosecutor Susanne Leu, the reasons are related to population growth, more complex investigations, the greater number of cases referred by the police, as well as the digitalization of crime.
For this reason, the prosecutor's office is expected to create 55 new temporary and permanent jobs over the next three years to cope with the influx of cases. In addition, a so-called "facilitating prosecutor's office" began work in April, which will operate until the end of 2029 and will mainly deal with mass offenses. This includes road traffic violations, violations of the law on foreigners and minor drug cases. The Zurich authorities hope that this expansion and reorganization of tasks will lead to more efficient handling of the large number of cases. /Adapted from Pamphlet by NZZ/
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