Police in western Germany on Tuesday conducted raids and made arrests in a long-running investigation into an alleged scheme to obtain residency permits for wealthy foreigners.

The raids were aimed at three suspects, all between the ages of 50 and 57, who prosecutors said allegedly defrauded wealthy Chinese nationals out of €5.6 million ($5.8 million) as part of the smuggling and trafficking scheme.

Two of the suspects had been arrested and were remanded in custody, while the third suspect is believed to be outside of Germany and is the subject of an ongoing search.

According to the investigation, €150,000 from the smuggling scheme is said to have been flowed to the local semi-professional football club 1. FC Düren.

The club’s chairman was the now-suspended district administrator of Düren, a town about 50 kilometres west of Cologne. He was provisionally suspended from his political office in November.

The Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office has been investigating for months the case of a suspected smuggling gang that allegedly procured German residency permits for wealthy people from China and Oman in return for payment.

In April 2024, police raided homes in eight German states in connection to the case.

Investigators believe that those involved in the scheme may have bribed public officials to obtain residency permits for their foreign clients.

Two lawyers are suspected of being the masterminds behind the scheme.

(dpa/NAN)