German police raid ring suspected of laundering $162 million

BERLIN (AP) — German police have carried out large-scale raids in 25 cities in connection with a suspected money-laundering network alleged to have funneled more than $162 million in ill-gotten gains abroad. Some of the money made its way to Islamic militant groups. Duesseldorf police said Wednesday’s raids involved more than 1,000 officers and took place in three states in the west and north of the country. Eleven people were arrested. Police said those taken into custody included a 39-year-old Syrian man who is accused of membership in Syria’s Nusra Front extremist group. The raids are part of an investigation into a so-called hawala network widely used in Muslim countries in which individuals rather than banks act as brokers for money transfers.