Es is the capital’s most famous clan property: the Remmo Villa. A Wilhelminian style house in Alt-Buckow in the south of Berlin-Neukölln – 164 square meters, eight rooms, a large garden. After a years-long legal dispute between the Neukölln district office and the family of Arab origin, the property will be forcibly evacuated this Wednesday morning.
The property is one of 77 properties that were seized by the Berlin public prosecutor’s office and the State Criminal Police Office in the summer of 2018. Investigators were convinced that the properties were financed with money from crime. It also involved allegations of money laundering and real estate transactions in Lebanon. The temporary seizure was the result of extensive investigative work and was considered a temporary success in the fight against clan crime in the capital.
But what about the real estate now, around five years later? And what impact did the confiscation have on the clan?
The state of Berlin has now had to return six houses to the extended family. A court decided this around three months ago. It could not be proven that the money used to purchase the properties came from illegal transactions. Only two of the 77 properties are now in state hands, including the family villa on the outskirts of Neukölln. Five further proceedings are currently underway at the Berlin Regional Court, in which the ownership of 60 additional properties is to be decided.
164 square meters, eight rooms and a lush garden – members of the Remmo clan lived in the villa on the outskirts of Neukölln for over ten years
Source: Marlene Gawrisch / WELT
This Wednesday the time has come. It was shortly after 10 a.m. when a large contingent of public order offices, bailiffs and the police arrived in front of the villa. Days before, the adjacent street had been declared a no-parking zone. Security precautions have been significantly increased than is usual for forced evictions. After all, it’s about clearing the property of one of the capital’s most famous clans.
There is a wrecked car in the front yard of the villa and pieces of furniture in the courtyard. Bulky waste lies around the house. In the last few days, the clan has been preparing for their move, packing boxes, cleaning the sidewalk in front of the house with the leaf blower and even digging up the garden.
But appearances are deceiving. Before they moved out, the clan caused pure devastation in the villa: the wooden floor was torn out, cables were hanging out of the wall, and windows were smashed. There is a lot of bulky waste, antiques, a silver Advent wreath, boxes with dishes and old children’s books in the garden. A student calendar sticks out of one with the inscription “Time to be happy.”
The Arab family is said to have evacuated the house by 3 a.m. A few hours later she is said to have left the property. The “BZ” had previously reported.
On Wednesday morning, some time before the eviction, the front door was open and the windows on the first floor were open. Numerous media representatives are standing in front of the garden fence. But the mood is calm. A resident stands in front of the house and says that the Remmos were quite sociable as neighbors. He heard that Issa Remmo made sure that drug dealing in her district stopped a few years ago. Of course, there is no proof of this.
For years, members of the clan have been making national headlines with crimes, for example in October 2014 with the blowing up of a Berlin savings bank, in which 9.1 million euros were stolen. Or in March 2017 with the break-in at the Bodemuseum, when two clan members stole a gold coin weighing 100 kilograms. The clan recently made headlines around the world with the break-in into the Green Vault.
There have been repeated police operations at the clan villa in Neukölln in recent years. Most recently, on New Year’s Eve, a family member attacked a police officer in front of the house. The trigger was that a daughter of clan leader Issa Remmo was hit by a police car. The police officers were with flashing lights and sirens when the girl allegedly ran into the street.
“Gross disproportion” between the value of the property and the clan member’s income
Members of the Arab clan have been living in the property on the outskirts of Neukölln since 2012. One of Issa Remmo’s sons bought it at the age of 19 for around 240,000 euros. The villa is one of the 77 properties temporarily confiscated. This security was made possible by a reform of asset recovery in 2017, which simplified the confiscation of “proceeds of crime” – such as real estate or accounts.
In 2021, the Berlin district court found a “gross disproportion” between the value of the property and the young man’s – not significant – legal income. The villa therefore went into state hands, i.e. the property of the State of Berlin. However, the municipality is responsible, in this case the Neukölln district office.
The district terminated the lease that same year. The reason: Issa’s wife had presented a fake rental agreement, which meant that the relationship of trust was broken, the reason given was. But the Remmos refused to move out. A years-long legal tug-of-war over the villa began between the state of Berlin and the family. A person involved in the case said that she had never experienced such an antics in her long professional life.
The only thing about the villa in Alt-Buckow that reminds us of the Remmo family’s great coups is a watch with a gold, diamond-decorated dial from the “Chopard” brand.
Source: Vanessa Nischik
Around three months ago, at the end of January, the decisive ruling was made by the Berlin Regional Court, which confirmed the previous decision of the district court: the villa must be vacated and the family must move out. The extended Arab family had two weeks to lodge an appeal with the Federal Court of Justice (BGH).
The only thing about the villa in Alt-Buckow that reminds us of the Remmo family’s great coups is a clock with a gold, diamond-decorated dial from the Chopard brand at the entrance gate – probably not an original, but a reminder of the break-in into the Green Vault? Some of their loot was returned as part of the trial last year. But there is still no trace of many pieces of jewelry.
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