Millions seized and 17 arrested in Europol criminal banking bust

Date:
Thu, 15 May 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Description:
Assets have been seized as Europol takes down a money laundering and criminal banking network.

FULL STORY

A criminal parallel banking organization with multiple branches from across Europe has been taken down by Europol, the agency has confirmed . This
takedown comes in the form of arrests for 17 individuals (15 in Spain, as
well as one in Austria, and Belgium).

Alongside the arrests, criminal assets worth 4.5 million were seized, as well as electronic devices and firearms. The criminals arrested were primarily Chinese and Syrian in nationality, and are accused of providing money laundering services to criminals.

This encompasses parallel banking services, illegal hawala banking, cash collection, cash courier services and the exchange of cryptocurrencies for cash. The money launderers were operational in at least two branches: one
that catered largely to the Arabic-speaking criminal world and the other to criminal networks originating from China, Europol confirms.

An underground financial system

Also seized in the takedown was 183,000 in cryptocurrency, and 77 bank
accounts - this structured underground financial system reportedly used alternative banking methods in order to evade law enforcement.

This operation is a prime example of the interconnection between criminal networks, a Europol spokesperson told Cybersecurity News. By following the money trail left by previous investigations into migrant smuggling, weve managed to take down a key financial infrastructure that enabled various criminal activities throughout Europe.

This comes after Europol and Eurojust dismantled an extensive investment scam that stole 3 million from around a hundred victims. This fraudulent
enterprise encouraged users to pour money into fake investment schemes, with cybercriminals making substantial profits from the platform.

Digital and financial fraud are increasingly connected, with more and more tools available for criminals to access victims and to grow crime networks. Criminals are turning to alternative banking systems to clean and move money thanks to lowered monitoring and regulation.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/millions-seized-and-17-arrested-in-euro pol-criminal-banking-bust

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