On July 9, two young men appeared before a Monaco court, while a third defendant was represented by his lawyer due to being on the run. The three men were charged with money laundering and drug-related offences following a trip to the Principality on January 20, 2023.

The defendants, who initially planned to deposit money and buy a Rolex watch, attracted police attention when they asked for directions to the Société Générale bank. Police discovered 23,445 euros in cash split among them to avoid exceeding Monaco’s cash carrying limit of 10,000 euros. Their inability to convincingly explain the origin of the money raised suspicions.

One young man claimed his cash came from lifetime savings, while another cited casino winnings, and the last claimed to be a car sale intermediary. However, the lucky gambler could not produce any documentation for his casino winnings, and the prospective luxury watch owner’s financial situation was inconsistent with his claims of saving enough to buy a Rolex.

Further scrutiny of their phones revealed incriminating messages. One of the men’s messages hinted at drug dealing, despite his court claims of fascination without involvement. The prosecutor argued that the messages suggested drug trafficking, especially significant as Monaco aims to distance itself from a reputation for money laundering.

All three men had criminal records that weakened their defences. The individual who’s messages hinted at drug dealing had a past arrest for drug use in 2017, while another had a conviction for drug trafficking in 2018, and the car sales intermediary had multiple convictions, including involvement in a drug trafficking operation, and escaping from prison certainly added to the severity of his charges.

The court found all three men guilty. The man with the illegitimate casino winnings was sentenced to six months in prison, the man with the life savings was sentenced to four months, while the car sales intermediary received eight months. Their phones and the 23,445 euros were confiscated.