In the near future, several German federal states and selected EU countries are expected to introduce a number of “decisive” measures to combat illegal or “shadow” car rental companies as part of the pan-European project “Rent,” initiated by the Berlin State Criminal Police Office (Landeskriminalamt, LKA).
The LKA directly oversees the practical implementation of the project’s key actions. Currently, the project involves the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat, BMI), the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA), the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), and relevant divisions of the National Police Corps of the Netherlands (Korps Nationale Politie).
At the federal level, the project “Rent” engages the criminal police offices of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Bremen, Bavaria, and Brandenburg, along with various associations of insurance companies and car rental firms.
The main goal of the project is to counter money laundering, insurance fraud, and improve road safety. In this context, Berlin’s Senator for the Interior, Digitalization, and Sport, Iris Spranger, stated clearly: “The project aims to cut off the financial lifelines of criminal networks connected to dubious car rental companies.”
According to her, about 60 out of 2,000 car rental firms in Berlin are linked to so-called clan criminality. Moreover, vehicles belonging to illegal car rental companies often cause traffic accidents due to aggressive driving and disregard for traffic regulations. Spranger emphasized: “It is essential to ensure the rule of law in order to protect the most vulnerable road users — pedestrians, families with children, and the elderly. Only then can public trust in the authorities be strengthened. The law, not the law of the strongest, must prevail on Berlin’s roads.”
The gradual implementation of the two-year (so far) project “Rent” includes, among other things, a Europe-wide analysis of its application, the creation of a database of “suspicious companies,” and the development of stricter car rental legislation. The European Union (EU) has allocated €1 million from its budget for the project’s execution.
Tags: Project Rent Germany , LKA Berlin , Europol Germany , BKA Germany , money laundering Germany , insurance fraud EU , illegal car rentals , shadow economy Germany , road safety Berlin , police cooperation EU , organized crime Germany , Berlin authorities , Iris Spranger senator , car rental regulation , German Ministry of Interior , European security project , law enforcement Germany , Europol cooperation , car rental control , Berlin crime prevention , road law enforcement , EU safety initiative , police operations Berlin , transportation security EU