By Anne Losensky
Anyone who knows too much about a clan coup with 49 million euros in loot better keep their mouth shut if they value their life. But Thomas S. (52) talks. The Berlin entrepreneur is mercilessly putting himself to the sword. But above all the men from the Miri clan who were accused along with him.
Day 5 in the trial for the 49 million coup at Fasanenstrasse 77. Thomas S. was head of the underground safe system there. On November 19, 2022, the tank busters came during the day. Cleared out 295 lockers (35 million euros). Retrieved 996 luxury watches from a safe (14 million euros).
They “worked” from 7:13 a.m. to 7:34 p.m. Did everything to destroy traces: paint on cameras, spilled gasoline, set fire to three car tires they brought with them. The bearded tank busters still ended up behind bulletproof glass.
Idea: “Mastermind” Bilall M. (42). Money laundering: “Gentleman” Mahmoud My. (26). Coup planning: “Kiezkönig” Muhammet “Mo” H. (42). Blue-eyed on site: “Henchman” Kenan S. (28). Businessman Thomas S. was on the sunny side of life: luxury property in Baden, yacht harbor shares in Brandenburg, luxury real estate in Berlin. Did greed drive him into the network of clan criminals?
► “The accusation is correct. I’m glad I decided to testify. I made a lot of mistakes. I got involved without thinking about the consequences.”
► “In May 2022, Bilall came to me with an idea: money laundering. I went into this to make up for Corona losses. Money came in, we bought gold, sold the gold and returned money after deducting a commission. It takes 14 days to dilute the transactions so that it’s not noticeable. Worked very well. Money was carried across the street in bags; our daily limit was 450,000 euros. We soon didn’t do anything else with our company.”
► “Then 1.3 million remained open. We didn’t have them, they were spent in all possible directions, operating costs and so on. The problem was on the agenda. In September 2022, Bilall asked me about our locker system. A clear wave with the fence post! I went along with it. I had 1.3 million open. But I was never threatened. Bilall put me in touch with Mo.”
► “There was an inspection of the locker facility on Fasanenstrasse, Mo disguised himself as a craftsman. At that time we were already being shadowed by Stuttgart customs in the money laundering process.”
► “Mo planned everything, I provided the information: floor plans, how the alarm system works. Each locker can optionally be insured up to a seven-figure sum. They asked for the relevant lockers, I gave them the lists.”
► “I should wish for a sum of up to 500,000 euros. I just wanted to free myself and get rid of the 1.3 million in liabilities. It said: Don’t worry, you’re left out. I stupidly trusted that. I didn’t want to and couldn’t show any weakness. For me it was a relief to go into it.”
► “I lied to my people. The new security was a show. Bungling. I was given an emergency cell phone. Mo moved the plan forward. The plan was for the robbery of the facility to take place on Saturday.”
► “I was instructed how to behave when I was interrogated. Mo gave me the number of a Kudamm lawyer and said: contact the person who knows, don’t let them drive you crazy.”
► “I met Mahmoud again on the Kudamm in an underground car park. Everything got out of hand! He gave me 50,000 euros in cash and told me to stay calm. I was extremely shocked when I saw the rooms. A nightmare. I received death threats. Those who hadn’t been harmed wanted to get their stuff.”
► “The search of my house on March 1st was a relief. Why didn’t I call the recommended lawyer? I was terrified that it would immediately come out that I was thinking about unpacking. It’s too much for me to pretend that I have nothing to do with everything. I just couldn’t do it.”
Judgment January 25, 2024.