Three people have been arrested in connection with a €43m investment fraud, the public prosecution department says.

Two men aged 30 and 64 and a 54-year-old woman are suspected of conning hundreds of people out of their cash by promising high returns on property and mortgage investments.

Several luxury cars, including a Jaguar and two Mercedes, were seized during searches at homes in Amstelveen and Soest and business premises in Amersfoort, Baarn, Amsterdam and Amstelveen.

Police also found a number of weapons, including a hand gun, the public prosecutor said. Investigators have also sequestered some 70 bank accounts used for the scam.

Complaint

The investigation kicked off after a complaint was made to the Dutch financial services regulator AFM.

Investors were told their money was being placed in German property. ‘The rest of the money is thought to have been spent privately by the suspects and used to make interest payments to other investors,’ the department said in a statement.