Source: Cointelegraph
Original: “Europol Assists in Dismantling $23 Million 'Mafia Crypto Bank'”
European law enforcement arrested 17 suspects of a "mafia crypto bank" in January, allegedly laundering over €21 million ($23.5 million) in cryptocurrency for criminal entities in China and the Middle East.
Europol stated in an official announcement on May 14 that these money laundering services were reportedly carried out on behalf of other criminal networks involved in human trafficking and drug trafficking.
Spanish law enforcement indicated that the criminal organization operated a secret informal money transfer system known as "Hawala" and typically received payments in cryptocurrency.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 17 individuals—15 in Spain, 1 in Austria, and 1 in Belgium. Authorities also seized items worth €4.5 million ($5 million), including cash, cryptocurrency, 18 vehicles, 4 shotguns, and various electronic devices.
Of the seized €4.5 million, €183,000 ($205,000) was in cryptocurrency. Additionally, €421,000 ($471,000) in cash was confiscated from 77 bank accounts associated with the criminal organization. A Spanish news agency described the organization as a "mafia crypto bank."
Spanish officials also reported that law enforcement seized luxury items worth €876,000 ($980,000), including bags, watches, and even high-end cigars.
According to Europol, this large-scale multinational operation was simultaneously launched in January 2025 across Spain, Austria, and Belgium. Spanish authorities added that over 250 law enforcement personnel were mobilized for the operation.
Among the 17 arrested suspects, 15 have been detained for their alleged involvement in the organization's criminal activities.
Investigations revealed that the arrested individuals were primarily of Chinese and Syrian nationality, with their criminal network mainly serving Chinese clients and Arabic-speaking criminal groups.
The criminal organization meticulously constructed a remittance business as a cover to hide the true nature of its money laundering activities, even boldly promoting its services on social media platforms.
This special investigation was led by the Almería Court in Spain, which fully supported Europol in coordinating the joint actions of law enforcement agencies in Spain and Belgium, ultimately successfully dismantling this transnational criminal network.
Latest data from blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis shows that the global scale of illegal cryptocurrency transactions reached $51.3 billion in 2024, an increase of 11.3% year-on-year.
Related: NDAX Executive: Canada "Wrongly" Labels Stablecoins as Securities
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
