In just one week, 159 arrests and 766 ‘money mules’ identified

There were 1,719 money mule transactions amounting to €31 million identified in just one week of a campaign against this crime, with more than 90% linked to cyber-related crimes, such as phishing, online auction fraud, Business E-mail Compromise (BEC) and CEO fraud. For the first time, romance scams and holiday fraud (booking fraud) were also reported by law enforcement authorities, while there was an increasing role of cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) transactions used in money laundering schemes used by the criminals. Law enforcement authorities from 26 countries (not Malta), supported by Europol, Eurojust and the European Banking Federation (EBF), joined forces in the third coordinated global action against money muling. During an action week from November 20 to 24, 159 individuals were arrested across Europe, 409 were interviewed by law enforcement authorities and 766 money mules were identified. The campaign has evolved from previous editions towards targeting not only the money mules, but also the money mule organisers. This resulted in 59 recruiters/organisers being identified. Money mules are recruited by criminal organisations as money laundering intermediaries to receive and...