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FOOD AND DRINK

Nestle’s French unit charged over contaminated pizzas

Nestle’s French subsidiary has been charged in a case involving contaminated pizzas that are suspected of having led to the death of two children, the company has said.

Published: 5 July 2024 11:34 CEST
Nestle’s French unit charged over contaminated pizzas
The Buitoni factory, in Caudry, northern France. (Photo by Denis Charlet / AFP)

The unit that manages the factory in the north of France that made the Buitoni-branded pizzas as well as Nestle France were indicted this week, the company said in a statement, without providing details of the charges.

French investigative magistrates opened a probe in May 2022 for involuntary manslaughter and unintentional injuries after several customers fell sick from eating pizzas containing E.coli bacteria.

READ ALSO French prosecutors raid pizza factory after E.coli outbreak

The search at the Caudry factory operated by Buitoni, which is owned by the Swiss food conglomerate Nestle, was confirmed by the Paris prosecutor’s office, which is leading the investigation.

Nestle announced a recall of the affected Fraiche-Up pizzas on March 18th, and authorities ordered a halt of their production at Caudry, in the Nord département, on April 6th after carrying out two hygiene inspections.

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CRIME

Spain and France bust million-euro-a-day money laundering network

Spanish and French police said Friday they had smashed an international money-laundering network capable of handling a million euros per day, arresting five people in Spain, including its leader.

Published: 6 July 2024 09:16 CEST
Spain and France bust million-euro-a-day money laundering network

Jointly run by France’s anti-fraud squad and the Spanish police with Europol’s support, the investigation began in February 2021 when French customs agents found more than 500,000 euros hidden in a car in southern France.

Led by a French magistrate, investigators discovered the existence of a “criminal scheme for laundering large quantities of cash across Europe”, which had been operating since at least 2019, a joint statement said.

This network, made up of Chinese nationals living in various European countries, was able to integrate huge sums of cash — more than one million euros ($1.1 million) per day — back into the legitimate economy.

“Their modus operandi was based on the existence of many collection points for money that was mainly coming from trading in counterfeit goods, tax and customs fraud, and pimping” sex workers, it said.

The money was then transferred to the network which then organised its distribution across Europe.

Spanish police arrested five people in Madrid, Valencia, Alicante and Barcelona, including a Chinese businessman who headed the network.

Investigators also searched various premises and homes, and by using sniffer dogs were able to find “almost 160,000 euros in cash hidden behind false ceilings and in portable refrigerators” and in other well-concealed places.

“This international operation… shows the leading role of Asian criminal groups in money laundering activities in Europe,” they said.

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