A cross-border investigation involving Europol, Spanish National Police and the US Secret Service among other agencies has disrupted an organised crime group involved in fraud and money laundering. Europol provided data sharing, coordination and analytical support throughout the 8-month-long investigation.
Over the course of the investigation, authorities have conducted more than 88 house searches. Additionally, they have arrested 105 suspects from various countries including Austria, Greece, Spain and the UK. The authorities have also seized 14 luxury vehicles and €406,000 euros ($489,112) in cash. Furthermore, they have frozen 87 bank accounts with over €1.3 million ($1.57m).
The criminal organization dismantled in the investigation was involved in creating US-based shell companies and opening bank accounts in their name. The criminals managed to gain the trust of US-based banks by making transfers to the US-based company accounts from different EU locations. The US-based banks issued debit and credit cards for these accounts because of this trust. Retailers involved in the scam then used the cards to steal funds and laundered them to different bank accounts in EU countries. The criminal organization defrauded over 50 US-based banks of over €12 million ($14.5m).
Source: Europol