A few weeks ago, the Austrian police discovered 90 firearms, 10,000 pieces of ammunition and several Nazi uniforms during a series of raids. In Germany, members of a Nazi Mafia were sentenced for drug trafficking and other crimes in recent years. However, related court cases show governments struggle to tackle this phenomenon effectively. CEP published a comprehensive seven-country research study on this issue in 2023 and continuously advises law enforcement and policymakers on effective strategies for disrupting the illegal financial activities of violent extremists. 

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

A few years ago, Christian W. posted a photo of himself on Instagram. He sits relaxed in a garden chair outdoors somewhere in Germany, a glass of beer in hand. Tattoos of the football hooligan group Alte Garde Essen, the martial arts club Guerreros and the biker club Bandidos MC cover his muscular upper body, showing his memberships. When law enforcement conducted raids in January 2022 on the premises of Bandidos Essen Ost, they found several kilograms of illegal drugs, €50,000 in cash, a cannabis plantation, illicit firearms, and a weapons workshop. Christian W. was the president of Bandidos Essen Ost at the time. He was also one of the leading figures of the Steeler Jungs, a far-right “citizen’s militia” founded in Essen in 2017. 

Everything’s a Nail to a Hammer

In 2019, three right-wing extremists were sentenced to prison for trafficking several kilograms of illegal drugs, such as amphetamines and ecstasy, on the dark web. One perpetrator was a member of the transnational extreme-right “Identitarian Movement,” while the leader belonged to a local extreme-right party in Aachen. They also supplied illegal drugs to one of Germany’s most significant transnational extreme-right organizations, the Turonen. The court estimated the drug business's earnings at €260,000. However, due to the offenders’ modest lifestyles and the limited confiscation of funds, the judge suspected the illegal profits might have been used to support their extremist activities. The prosecutors and police in Aachen, however, chose to classify the case as a simple drug-related crime. 

Together, this paints an alarming picture. What does a law enforcement agency see when they look at such cases? Could they be indicators for transnational right-wing extremist and organized crime networks, for Neo-Nazi Mafias? Police investigators often don’t know for certain. That’s because criminal investigations in such cases are typically not handled by police departments specializing in right-wing extremism but by those responsible for fighting organized crime. Right-wing extremist drug and arms dealers are depoliticized in criminal proceedings. Sentencing individuals for drug or firearms trafficking takes precedence over investigating wider Neo-Nazi Mafia networks. As a result, crime statistics don’t show any such cases of organized crime collaborating with right-wing extremists or of Neo-Nazi Mafia structures. Therefore, they don’t “exist”. 

A German Transnational Neo-Nazi Mafia

A similar pattern emerged with the Brotherhood of Thuringia, also known as the Turonen. In several court cases, members and supporters were accused of forming a criminal organization involved in drug trafficking, forced prostitution, extortion, and money laundering. Police and prosecution, specializing in organized crime, estimated the group's total revenues at over €1.2 million. Raids in February and June 2021 uncovered drugs, approximately €200,000 in cash, and several weapons, including semi-automatic rifles. All in all, investigators seized assets valued at over €3 million. The Turonen are key players in German and transnational violent right-wing extremism. They have long-standing collaborations with other prominent German extreme-right figures. Turonen members remain outspoken supporters of the National Socialist Underground (NSU), Germany’s deadliest far-right terrorist organization since 1945. Between 2000 and 2011, the NSU committed eleven murders and financed its activities mainly through 15 bank robberies.

Neo-Nazi-Mafia Networks in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland 

Turonen members have been active in other countries, such as Austria. They were linked to the Neo-Nazi Mafia network Objekt 21, who were reportedly acting as enforcers for local organized crime gangs and committing attacks, extortion, bombings, and arson between 2008 and 2012. The Turonen also maintain strong ties to the far-right “Blood and Honour” network in Switzerland, where they co-organized a concert with 5000 participants with an estimated revenue of €200.000. 

Women played a critical role in the for-profit activities of the Turonen network. They reportedly managed the brothel and served as property owners for the organization’s real estate. Attorney Dirk W., a former deputy chairman of the extreme-right NPD party (now Die Heimat) in Hesse and an “honorary member” of the Turonen, faces charges of money laundering, drug trafficking, and extortion. The money laundering reportedly involved purchasing real estate, running both legal and illegal prostitution businesses, and managing a property company that paid fake salaries to Turonen members and prospects without requiring any actual work.

By February 2021, before the arrests of leading Turonen members for the above-mentioned crimes, 32 court cases had been filed against the group for offenses ranging from assault to fraud, fencing, forgery, and trespassing.

In the last few years, another Neo-Nazi Mafia network was discovered in Austria. At the end of November 2022, the German citizen and Bandidos MC member Dennis M. was stopped in his car by the police during a routine check. The somewhat surprising result of the search: six submachine guns, six revolvers, around 1,500 rounds of ammunition and a loaded pistol on the passenger seat. Following this incident, 13 police raids targeting the Bandidos MC in Austria in June 2023 led to the discovery of firearms worth 1.5 million euros, cocaine, cannabis, and other drugs, as well as 600,000 euros in cash. Among the confiscated objects, police found 550 items of National-Socialist memorabilia, including medals, flags, and literature. 48 illegal firearms caches with a suspected extreme right-wing connection were reportedly found by Austrian law enforcement between July 2019 and March 2025. A former Object 21 member also led a Bandidos MC chapter in Switzerland.

These findings indicate the existence of a wider network, since several of the arrested Bandidos MC members were previously members of the above-mentioned Neo-Nazi Mafia structure Object 21. The groups and individuals mentioned above often own real estate and operate ostensibly legal security companies, restaurants, construction, moving, or merchandise businesses. A money laundering network could exist here, funneling illegal proceeds from drug and arms trafficking and illegal prostitution.

Are Neo-Nazi Mafia networks being overlooked? 

European law enforcement agencies assume that organized crime groups are reluctant to collaborate with right-wing extremists because such partnerships could draw the attention of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. However, the actual risk seems relatively low. So far, only individuals have been convicted. Neo-Nazi Mafiosi are generally treated as regular (for-profit) criminals in court proceedings, while potentially involved wider extreme-right networks stay untouched. Hence, none of the court cases in Germany or Austria have discovered a criminal association. Similar cases exist in the United States.       

Overcoming Silos of Jurisdiction through Joint Task Forces

The limited perspective of authorities regarding potential wider Neo-Nazi Mafia networks stems mainly from the internal structure of law enforcement. The processing of politically motivated and financially motivated crimes is organizationally divided into separate silos of jurisdictions within law enforcement agencies. Also, tax investigators from revenue offices rarely cooperate with police units. Joint Task Forces could temporarily bridge these silos. They should include police specializing in politically motivated and organized crime, prosecutors, tax authorities, Financial Intelligence Units (FIU), and other relevant agencies. Guided by a Follow the Money approach, this could enable the effective identification, investigation, and prosecution of these networks. In addition, known cases of collaborations between extremists and organized crime, including Neo-Nazi Mafia cases, should be included as such in government reports and statistics.

The focus of these Joint Task Forces should be on investigating the known connections between right-wing extremists and organized crime, examining their relationships with key actors and wider extremist and criminal networks. Uncovering previously unknown illegal activities such as money laundering could also lead to confiscating financial assets (“Follow and Take the Money”). The Joint Task Forces would require a clear mandate from policymakers and the leadership of the involved government bodies to be effective. Since all known right-wing organized crime networks operate across state borders or even internationally, a coordination mechanism should also be established at the federal and international levels. 

Remember Al Capone?

The infamous American mafia boss Al Capone, active in the 1920s, could not be directly linked to the violent crimes he orchestrated. Instead, he was ultimately sentenced to 11 years for serial tax evasion. A similar mindset to fight the Neo-Nazi Mafia networks of today is urgently needed.

An earlier and shorter version of this article was previously published in the German weekly “Die ZEIT ONLINE”