By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
POLICE in six countries have taken down a major underground banking network in Europe involved in laundering proceeds from drug trafficking and other serious crimes.
The operation, which built on two prior investigations, led to nine arrests and the seizure of €27 million in cryptocurrencies, as well as €35,000 in cash, gold, and luxury goods.
EU law enforcement agency Europol said the operation followed two investigations—Operation GORGON and Operation WHITEWALL—and involved Europol, Spain’s Guardia Civil, and law enforcement from Belgium, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and the U.S.
On November 4, a coordinated action day in Malaga, Spain, which Europol said marked the culmination of years of effort to disrupt financial networks offering “crime as a service.”
The operation began in 2021 when a cash seizure linked to cocaine trafficking uncovered a paper trail on euro banknotes. Handwritten notes on €5 bills revealed financial coordinators for the drug network. This led Europol to identify a British national coordinating underground banking services for a Spain-based criminal group linked to a Dubai network. The suspect was arrested in September 2022.
Further analysis identified additional suspects, enabling Europol to map the criminal network and distribute intelligence to partner agencies.
Investigators revealed that the network used cryptocurrencies to transfer large sums of illicit funds. Europol said this method, linked to Albania-based criminals, highlighted a growing trend in digital money laundering across Europe.
“During the action days, Europol deployed specialists and analysts to the raids, where they provided expertise in organised crime, financial crime and asset recovery,” Europol said.
“Cryptocurrency experts and cyber specialists supported the actions on site with mobile offices, as well as from Europol’s headquarters, offering their digital forensic abilities and remote investigative capabilities.”
We hope you enjoyed reading this article
If you would like unlimited access to AML Intelligence premium articles, newsletter delivered twice a week, access to our Global Bank Fines and Penalties database, free access to Boardroom Series events and much more, select one of our subscription options and become a subscriber!
