money laundering - Blog - Gangsters Inc. - www.gangstersinc.org
2024-03-28T17:24:14Z
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/feed/tag/money+laundering
Leader of $25 million international money laundering ring pleads guilty – Also flooded Massachusetts with drugs
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/leader-of-25-million-international-money-laundering-ring-pleads-g
2023-09-17T09:37:15.000Z
2023-09-17T09:37:15.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12225424082?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>A New York man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Boston to leading a sophisticated international money laundering organization that also distributed large quantities of cocaine and MDMA (ecstasy).</p>
<p>36-year-old Jin Hua Zhang, of Staten Island, N.Y., pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for Feb. 1, 2024. Zhang was among 10 others charged in October 2022 in connection with the conspiracy. The defendants and one other were subsequently charged in a superseding indictment in May 2023.</p>
<p>“Today, Jin Hua Zhang admitted to leading a sophisticated, transnational criminal organization that flooded the streets of Massachusetts with kilos of cocaine and ecstasy and laundered at least $25 million through a global network in an attempt to conceal their criminal conduct,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Zhang network</strong></span></p>
<p>Zhang’s network was first detected in the greater Boston area, but alleged leaders and members of the organization were later identified throughout the United States and overseas. During a year-long investigation Zhang’s organization was infiltrated and it was determined that, for a fee, Zhang laundered bulk cash for drug dealers and laundered profits from other illegal businesses and internet-based scams. Zhang directed alleged co-conspirators to pick up hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash or transmit millions of dollars in wire transfers and bank deposits. Zhang then converted those funds into cryptocurrency, which he believed would enable his organization to transfer illicit funds without detection by banks’ security teams or law enforcement.</p>
<p>Over numerous recorded conversations and meetings, Zhang, and allegedly others, discussed efforts to launder funds from drug trafficking and other scams and laundered money from fraud operations based in Cambodia. In less than one year, Zhang and his organization laundered at least $25 million worth of drug proceeds and funds from other illegal businesses through undercover agents. To date, funds have been traced from the Zhang Organization to Hong Kong and elsewhere including China, India, Cambodia and Brazil, among other locations.</p>
<p>In addition to money laundering, Zhang, and allegedly others, were recorded distributing kilograms of cocaine and MDMA that Zhang intended for distribution in Massachusetts.</p>
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Boston man admits to role in international money laundering conspiracy which cleaned millions for drug biz
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/boston-man-admits-to-role-in-international-money-laundering-consp
2023-09-07T06:25:59.000Z
2023-09-07T06:25:59.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12218873257?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>A Boston man pleaded guilty Friday to his involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization. 57-year-old Mariano Santana pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for November 30, 2023.</p>
<p>In May 2023, Santana was among 12 individuals from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and California charged in a superseding indictment for their alleged involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization allegedly led by Jin Hua Zhang.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Laundering drug money</strong></span></p>
<p>According to the charging documents, Zhang allegedly laundered bulk cash for drug dealers and laundered profits from other illegal businesses for a fee. It is alleged that, during the investigation, Zhang directed his co-defendant couriers, and others, to deliver to undercover agents hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and millions of dollars in wire transfers and bank deposits. In total, Zhang and his organization allegedly laundered at least $25 million worth of drug proceeds and funds from other illegal businesses traced to Hong Kong and elsewhere in China, India, Cambodia, and Brazil, among other locations.</p>
<p>Santana was a courier who dropped off drug money to be laundered by the Zhang organization. On two separate occasions in June 2022, Santana delivered bulk cash deliveries of illicit proceeds to a cooperating witness in a Quincy parking lot. Specifically, on June 2, 2022, Santana provided the individual with a bag containing $30,000 in cash. On June 7, 2022, Santana delivered $29,800 in cash, </p>
<p>The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the amount involved, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.</p>
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The Black Market Pesos Exchange: Italian-led operation busts intricate system used to launder drug money for criminals
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/the-black-market-pesos-exchange-italian-led-operation-busts-intri
2023-05-31T08:37:48.000Z
2023-05-31T08:37:48.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11183233459?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Police in Italy and Spain arrested 33 suspects yesterday morning in a coordinated action against a globally active money laundering criminal network. The alleged perpetrators, who are of Italian, Albanian, Colombian, Moroccan, and Syrian nationality, had built up an international network of companies to launder dirty money.</p>
<p>As a so-called “money laundering network controller”, the group offered a professional criminal service to veil the origin of proceeds generated by illegal drug trafficking from South America.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/mafia-math-calculating-italian-organized-crime-s-illicit-income" target="_blank"><strong>Mafia Math: Calculating Italian organized crime’s illicit income</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>With the support of Europol and Eurojust, money-laundering specialists from the Italian Guardia di Finanza uncovered a network of electronics companies located around the globe and seized €18,5 million in assets.</p>
<p>The intricate structure used companies in countries such as China, Turkey, and the United States, amongst others. This complex web of companies allowed organized crime to disguise the nature, source, location, ownership, control, origin and/or destination of illegally acquired funds and to avoid their detection.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Black Market Pesos Exchange</strong></span></p>
<p>In order to launder drug profits generated in Europe, the arrested individuals offered a service of trade-based money laundering known as the “Black Market Pesos Exchange”. This process reduces the risk of losing money through seizures and allows for faster access to the funds.</p>
<p>The drug producers would provide drugs to the Italian buyers as a form of credit. The profits generated from the sale of the drugs in Europe were then picked up by brokers, introduced into companies, and used for ordering goods such as mobile phones from China, to state just one example.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aCDfRJoe_q8" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p>These goods were then shipped to the United States and further transported to Colombia, where they were offered on the market. Upon being sold, the cartels such as the Grupo Armado Organizado received the cash and thus their veiled payment for the drugs provided to European sellers.</p>
<p>Based on international law enforcement cooperation between the Italian Guardia di Finanza and the Spanish Policía Nacional, supported by Europol and Eurojust, the criminal network’s modus operandi could be unraveled. In Italy alone, €18,5 million could be traced back as money laundered for organized crime groups.</p>
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English linchpin in Europe’s drug underworld told to fork over £630,000 – Bragged of his 20-year crime career
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/english-linchpin-in-europe-s-drug-underworld-told-to-fork-over-63
2023-05-25T04:30:24.000Z
2023-05-25T04:30:24.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11148175086?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>A former haulage firm owner in England who was imprisoned for moving drugs and dirty cash across Europe has been ordered to pay back £630,000. 42-year-old Thomas Maher was sentenced to 14 years and eight months in prison in December 2020.</p>
<p>Evidence obtained by Great Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of Operation Venetic – the UK law enforcement response to the takedown of encrypted global communications service EncroChat – showed that he operated a transportation network spanning Europe, moving drugs into the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland and the profits in the other direction.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>20 years of crime paid well</strong></span></p>
<p>In one exchange of messages with a criminal associate he bragged that he had been involved in organized crime for more than 20 years.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/foxtrot-one-one-is-down-the-braybrook-street-massacre" target="_blank"><strong>Foxtrot One One is Down: The Braybrook Street Massacre</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>On Monday, a judge at Liverpool Crown Court made a confiscation order for £629,159.15, including his house in Warrington, cars, lorries, jewelry, a number of high value watches, artwork and gold ingots bought in Dubai. He has three months to pay or faces an extra six years in jail.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11148175663,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11148175663?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="476" /></a><em><strong>Photo: Maher's ride.</strong> </em></p>
<p>“Thomas Maher was a career criminal who was trusted by some of Europe’s biggest crime groups to move their drugs and money,” The NCA’s Head of Asset Denial, Rob Burgess, said. “The confiscation order will ensure money he made will be returned to the public purse to fund further efforts to protect the public from organized crime.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>39 dead Vietnamese</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11148175680,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11148175680?profile=RESIZE_400x" width="350" /></a>Maher (right) came onto the NCA’s radar after he was arrested as part of the investigation into the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants in a lorry in Purfleet in October 2019. The tractor unit involved had at one point been owned by Maher, and was still registered in his wife’s name even after it was sold.</p>
<p>He was released with no further action taken by Essex Police, but an NCA financial investigation revealed that despite him and his wife being on less than minimum wage for tax purposes, they lived a luxurious lifestyle.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/exclusive-the-art-of-smuggling-by-britain-s-first-drug-baron" target="_blank"><strong>‘The Art of Smuggling’ by Britain’s first drug baron</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>During a seven month surveillance operation NCA officers watched Maher meet with criminal associates at hotels and in public spaces in the North West to organize the trafficking of cocaine from the Netherlands to the UK and Ireland.</p>
<p>As well as drugs, Maher also helped to facilitate the movement of large sums of cash, charging a commission for his involvement.</p>
<p>NCA officers arrested Maher on June 13, 2020 at his home in Warrington, after receiving intelligence that he planned to leave the country. He was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court in December 2020 after pleading guilty to importing drugs and money laundering.</p>
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Member of Colombian La Oficina drug cartel sentenced for role in Massachusetts underworld
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/member-of-colombian-la-oficina-drug-cartel-sentenced-for-role-in
2023-04-27T08:28:20.000Z
2023-04-27T08:28:20.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11036860478?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>A man from Lowell, Massachusetts, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Boston for conspiring to distribute cocaine. 61-year-old Miguel Colindres got a sentence of over 4 years in prison.</p>
<p>In January, Colindres pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. He was arrested and charged on July 15, 2020 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on July 21, 2020.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/elusive-colombian-drug-lord-memo-fantasma-arrested-mysterious-kin" target="_blank"><strong>Elusive Colombian drug lord “Memo Fantasma” – Mysterious kingpin started under Pablo Escobar</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Colindres conspired with members of <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/drug-cartels" target="_blank">La Oficina de Envigado (La Oficina)</a>, a criminal organization based in Medellín, Colombia to distribute five kilograms of cocaine.</p>
<p>La Oficina originated in the 1980s when its members provided enforcement and collection services for the Medellín Cartel, including deceased Medellín Cartel leader Pablo Escobar. Today, La Oficina is allegedly involved in international narcotics trafficking, drug debt collection, money laundering, extortion and murder for hire.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/pablo-escobars-war-on-colombia" target="_blank"><strong>Pablo Escobar's War on Colombia</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>It is alleged that co-defendants Fabio de Jesus Yepes Sanchez and Mario Zapata Velez were members of La Oficina who were tasked with collecting a $750,000 drug debt from two cocaine traffickers in Massachusetts. It is further alleged that Colindres conspired with Yepes, Zapata and others, to obtain five kilograms of cocaine from the Massachusetts traffickers, sell those kilograms, and then repatriate the drug proceeds to Colombia, in partial satisfaction of the outstanding drug debt.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/drug-cartels">Drug Cartels section</a> or the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in" target="_blank">Organized Crime in the United States section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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£100 million smuggled in suitcases by money laundering cash couriers
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/100-million-smuggled-in-suitcases-by-money-laundering-cash-courie
2023-04-27T08:17:08.000Z
2023-04-27T08:17:08.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11036856499?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>British authorities dismantled a network of criminal cash couriers that laundered over £100 million by smuggling it out of the United Kingdom (UK) to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The investigation was led by the National Crime Agency (NCA).</p>
<p>Eleven of the couriers have now been convicted, following Tuesday’s guilty verdicts returned in the trial of Beatrice Auty, 26, from London; Jonathan Johnson, 55, and Jo Emma Larvin, 44, both from Ripon in North Yorkshire, and Amy Harrison, 27, from Worcester Park in Surrey, at Isleworth Crown Court.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11036856671,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="11036856671?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em><strong>Photo: Custody images of (from left to right) Beatrice Auty, Jonathan Johnson and Jo Emma Larvin</strong></em></p>
<p>Their network smuggled more than £104 million from the UK to Dubai during 83 separate trips between November 2019 and October 2020, overseen by ringleader Abdullah Alfalsi, 47, who was jailed for more than nine years in July last year.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/british-boss-brian-wright" target="_blank"><strong>The Milkman always delivers - Profile of British drug boss Brian Wright</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>“The laundering of such vast quantities of cash around the globe enables organized criminals and corrupt elites to clean or hide their ill-gotten gains,” Adrian Searle, Director of the National Economic Crime Centre in the NCA, said. “Cash smugglers typically work on behalf of International Controller Networks, who move the finances of the international drug trade, people traffickers, fraudsters and other criminal groups, making the source of the money difficult to trace.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Sunshine and lollipops</strong></span></p>
<p>The couriers, who were paid around £3,000 for each trip and would be booked on business class flights due to the extra luggage allowance, communicated on a Whatsapp group entitled ‘Sunshine and lollipops’.</p>
<p>Investigators established that courier Tara Hanlon, who was convicted in June 2021, had briefed another courier about the operation. The courier had travelled from Heathrow to Dubai on three occasions in August and September 2020, checking in 18 suitcases which contained £6.8 million.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/irish-mob-boss-daniel-kinahan-hires-a-special-forces-instructor-t" target="_blank"><strong>Irish mob boss Daniel Kinahan hires a Special Forces instructor to teach his crew evasive maneuvers and shooting skills</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Auty, who was arrested following NCA raids in May 2021, travelled the same route twice in July and August of that year, checking in seven suitcases containing £3.4 million. Czech national Zdenek Kamaryt, who was convicted of money laundering in March 2021, joined her on the second trip.</p>
<p>Auty was involved in the logistical arrangements for another 16 trips, helping to pack cash into suitcases, accompanying travellers to Heathrow and collecting empty suitcases when they returned so they could be used again.</p>
<p>Larvin made two trips to Dubai in August and September 2020; one with Amy Harrison when they took seven cases between them containing £2.2 million and another with her partner Jonathan Johnson, when they took eight suitcases containing £2.8 million.</p>
<p>Larvin and Johnson were arrested at Manchester Airport in March 2022.</p>
<p>Harrison made three trips between July and September 2020, taking 15 suitcases containing around £6m.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Drug profits</strong></span></p>
<p>The network collected cash from criminal groups around the UK, which was believed to be the profits of drug dealing, and took it to counting houses, usually rented apartments in Central London.</p>
<p>The money was then vacuum packed and separated into suitcases which would typically each contain around £500,000, weighing around 40 kilos. They were sprayed with coffee or air fresheners in an effort to prevent them being found by Border Force detection dogs.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/one-of-britain-s-most-wanted-drug-traffickers-caught-in-dubai" target="_blank"><strong>One of Britain’s most wanted drug traffickers caught in Dubai</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Five other couriers have pleaded guilty at previous hearings and will be sentenced at a later date, along with those convicted yesterday. They are:</p>
<ul>
<li> Nicola Esson, 56, from Leeds, and Stacey Borg, 41, of Pudsey, West Yorkshire, who were arrested in May 2021. Esson travelled from Heathrow to Dubai on three occasions in August and September 2020, checking in 19 suitcases with a combined weight of almost half a tonne. Borg made three trips to Dubai during the same period, on one occasion travelling with Esson. She declared £1.8 million in cash to Dubai customs in September 2020 and £2.5 million the following month.</li>
<li> Paige Henry, 25, from Birmingham, made four trips to Dubai in August and September 2020, one alone and three with other couriers, carrying a total of 24 suitcases containing £8.25 million.</li>
<li> Megan Reeves, 30, from Doncaster, was arrested alongside Hanlon in October 2020, with five suitcases between them containing £2 million. Messages showed the pair had known each other since 2017. At the time Reeves claimed they were going on a ‘girly holiday’ to Dubai but communications showed she intended to make 13 trips to clear debts of £39,000.</li>
<li> Muhammad Ilyas, 30, from Slough, was arrested by NCA officers at Heathrow Airport after in February 2020 after arriving on a flight from Dubai. He had checked in four suitcases at the airport ten days earlier, one of which had gone missing, and declared almost £1.5 million in cash to Dubai Customs. The missing suitcase was subsequently found by Border Force officers, and contained £431,360 in cash.</li>
</ul>
<p>Other couriers remain under investigation.</p>
<ul>
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WATCH | The Launderer? On the trail of the Italian mafia's dirty money
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/watch-the-launderer-on-the-trail-of-the-italian-mafia-s-dirty-mon
2023-04-22T06:14:51.000Z
2023-04-22T06:14:51.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11031290494?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap">By Al Jazeera</span></p>
<p><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap">Every year, the multibillion-dollar proceeds of organised crime are pumped into the global economy - a torrent of dirty cash that is laundered through the banking system to disguise its origins. So how is it done? And how does it remain undetected? Eager to find out, two journalists began to investigate the business dealings of a man allegedly involved in hiding the vast profits of the 'Ndrangheta, a branch of the Italian Mafia. But as this extraordinary three-part People & Power report reveals, little in this complex and secretive world is quite what it seems. </span></p>
<p><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6JfkufVaDjo" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></span></p>
<ul>
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Underground bank that laundered €180 million in drug money taken down
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/underground-bank-that-laundered-180-million-in-drug-money-taken-d
2023-04-17T12:11:41.000Z
2023-04-17T12:11:41.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11029201076?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>European authorities backed by Europol disrupted a large-scale money laundering and underground banking system last month, Europol reported April 13. At least €180 million in illicit profits generated by cocaine trafficking had been laundered by the criminal network, which consisted of Moroccan, Spanish, and Belgian nationals.</p>
<p>The criminal network was active in Belgium and branched out to the Netherlands, Spain, South America and Dubai. Its members had set up a complex and professional system to launder illicit profits generated by importing cocaine via ports and airports into the EU.</p>
<p>During a coordinated action day in March 2023, law enforcement arrested five suspects in Belgium, another suspect in Spain, and seized various criminal assets. The criminal network had relied on investments in cryptocurrencies and the distribution of cash via an underground banking system. A main money laundering method was via investment in luxurious real estate projects in the EU, as well in several Moroccan cities.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Sky ECC</strong></span></p>
<p>Law enforcement started to look into the case in October 2021, after analyzing decrypted SKY ECC messages indicating the presence of a large-scale criminal network importing cocaine and laundering illicit profits. The investigation revealed large amounts of cocaine trafficked from various South American ports to several maritime ports and airports in Europe.</p>
<p>By using contact persons at these various entry points, the organization succeeded in importing several tons of cocaine and selling it on for a massive profit. Using a professional and flexible approach, involving methods such as the use of cover companies, the criminals managed to evade the authorities until the decryption of the SKY ECC network.</p>
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Sophisticated Sinaloa Cartel money laundering organization busted by feds
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/sophisticated-sinaloa-cartel-money-laundering-organization-busted
2023-04-16T07:29:41.000Z
2023-04-16T07:29:41.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11028738255?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Americans are dying younger and younger. One of the reasons is their addiction to opioids and other narcotics. Though the War on Drugs seems a failure, authorities continue as before. Only this time they focus on the money. The root of all evil.</p>
<p>A two-year investigation by FBI and DEA has resulted in the indictment of twelve people, the takedown of a transnational criminal organization that allegedly laundered at least $16.5 million for the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/drug-cartels" target="_blank">Sinaloa cartel</a>, and the rescue of two victims of an extortion plot.</p>
<p>“Mexican drug cartels cannot succeed without money launderers,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Our office will prosecute not only those who traffic in drugs but also those who enable the drug traffickers through sophisticated shell corporations and multiple bank accounts.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/befriending-a-capo-in-the-medellin-cartel-how-an-undercover-unit" target="_blank"><strong>Befriending a capo in the Medellin Cartel: How an undercover unit infiltrated the global drug trade</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Cristian Amaya Nava was the first to be sentenced in federal court Monday to 60 months in prison in connection with the extortion and money laundering charges. He admitted that in February of 2021, he forced two victims to withdraw funds from their own accounts to repay a drug debt, under threat of harm to themselves and their families. He also admitted that he laundered over $2.4 million for the cartel.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Complex money laundering organization</strong></span></p>
<p>An investigation was initiated in the fall of 2020 after FBI agents identified a complex money laundering organization allegedly led by Enrique Daan Esparragoza Rosas of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. The indictment said Esparragoza’s organization used a network of shell companies incorporated in Wyoming to launder millions of dollars in cash belonging to the Sinaloa Cartel. The shell companies and a sophisticated financial network were created and overseen by Luis Ramirez, a U.S. citizen residing in Mesa, Arizona.</p>
<p>Ramirez and Esparragoza allegedly directed and facilitated employees of the money laundering organization to travel to cities throughout the United States to pick up bulk cash belonging to narcotics traffickers. The employees picked up the bulk cash in Chicago, Omaha, Boston, New York City, Baltimore, Charlotte, Philadelphia and other cities.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/norman-s-cay-from-notorious-cocaine-pipeline-of-the-medellin-cart" target="_blank"><strong>Norman’s Cay: From cocaine pipeline of the Medellin Cartel to a fraudulent festival for rich millennials</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Narcotics traffickers delivered bulk cash in amounts of up to $200,000 to the employees in hotel rooms and parking lots. Following the delivery of the illegal money, the criminal organization laundered the funds through the shell companies and then transferred the laundered funds to bank accounts in Mexico. In total, dozens of bank accounts used by the organization were targeted, resulting in the seizure of $1 million from those accounts plus about $197,430 in bulk cash. </p>
<p>In November 2020, the FBI worked with the DEA Chicago Field Office to conduct an operation using information from the investigation which resulted in the seizure of 368 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and 10 kilograms of heroin, allegedly from defendants Sugey Caro Salazar and Idsel Valenzuela in LaPorte, Indiana. They are accused of delivering cash to an employee of the money laundering organization.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/no-one-is-above-the-law-not-even-the-son-of-el-chapo-guzman" target="_blank"><strong>No one is above the law, not even the son of “El Chapo” Guzman</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Funds laundered by the organization were used to purchase a Volvo tractor-trailer that FBI agents seized near Las Vegas; and aircraft and aircraft engines for export to Mexico, among other things.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Extortion plot</strong></span></p>
<p>In the extortion plot, the FBI’s efforts resulted in a successful rescue of two victims who were being extorted by the money laundering organization in February 2021. Prior to the extortion, one of the victims, an employee of the money laundering organization, began stealing illicit funds from a bank account that he controlled for the organization. Under pressure from the organization to return the stolen funds, the victim and his family member concocted an unsuccessful scheme to repay the debt: He stole an additional $30,000 from the money laundering organization to purchase a tortilla machine, intending to resell it for a profit. The pair owed a substantial debt to the money laundering organization.</p>
<p>When Esparragoza and Ramirez learned of the theft, they conspired to threaten and extort the pair to repay the funds. Esparragoza sent Amaya Nava to threaten the men and their families. Amaya Nava has admitted that he drove the two men around Imperial and San Diego County to collect money from bank accounts they controlled. According to admissions in Amaya Nava’s plea agreement, Esparragoza also directly threatened the men and their families during several phone conversations that day, telling them that two truckloads of men from Tijuana would “take care of them” if they did anything stupid.</p>
<p>The FBI learned of the ongoing extortion after being alerted by an informant and began tracking the victims and Amaya Nava’s movements. Amaya Nava drove with the men from El Centro to San Diego in an effort to collect additional money from an associate of one of the victims. FBI agents coordinated with the National City Police Department to conduct a traffic stop wherein Amaya Nava was arrested and the two victims were rescued. </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Arrests and fugitives</strong></span></p>
<p>To date the investigation has resulted in the arrests of Amaya Nava and Luis Ramirez, who were charged with extortion and money laundering charges; Ivan Correia Zamora, Ricardo Torres, Kimberlly Reyes, Hector Francisco Vizcaino Moreno, Luis Armando Avila, and Cheliann Rivera Vazquez who are facing money laundering charges; Melvin Rosado (aka) Cristian Cruz Polanco has been arrested on money laundering and aggravated identity theft charges. Sugey Caro Salazar and Idsel Valenzuela have been arrested and charged with narcotics trafficking and money laundering. Enrique Daan Esparragoza Rosas has been charged with money laundering and extortion offenses. Enrique Daan Esparragoza Rosas has been charged with money laundering and extortion offenses. All but two defendants are pending trial. Enrique Daan Esparragoza Rosas and Ivan Correia are fugitives.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/drug-cartels">Drug Cartels section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Wells Fargo branch manager sent to prison for laundering money of drug traffickers
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/wells-fargo-branch-manager-sent-to-prison-for-laundering-money-of
2023-03-10T07:02:37.000Z
2023-03-10T07:02:37.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10995418258?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>A former Wells Fargo branch manager has been ordered to federal prison for helping a drug trafficking ring launder their money through his bank. 36-year-old Stephen Roland Reyna pleaded guilty September 1, 2021, and was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Thursday.</p>
<p>At the hearing, the court said that Reyna was given and held a position of trust with the bank, of which he took advantage. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the amount of money Reyna laundered and the sequence of events in which he participated.</p>
<p>“If you help drug traffickers ‘clean’ their money, you will be prosecuted,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani. “It is especially disappointing that a bank manager for Wells Fargo chose to violate his position of trust for easy money, money from organizations that are destroying our communities.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-russian-oligarchs-turned-the-country-of-latvia-into-their-own" target="_blank"><strong>How Russian oligarchs turned Latvia into their money laundering machine</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reyna was the manager of a Wells Fargo branch in Harlingen. Using his position and knowledge of the banking industry, he assisted a drug trafficking organization to launder $410,000 in drug sale proceeds.</p>
<p>The organization would transport multi-kilogram cocaine loads from the Rio Grande Valley to northern states. Upon successful delivery, thousands of dollars in drug proceeds would then be dispersed through multiple Wells Fargo bank accounts in the northern states.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rabobank-taken-to-court-on-charges-it-laundered-money-for-me" target="_blank"><strong>Rabobank in court over Mexican drug cartel money laundering charges</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reyna would coordinate with multiple co-conspirators in the Rio Grande Valley to launder the funds through their accounts at Wells Fargo. He ensured the proceeds were successfully withdrawn from his branch in Harlingen.</p>
<p>Co-conspirators would frequently pay Reyna in cash right after he helped them get their drug proceeds out of the bank. Reyna ultimately admitted he suspected the funds were from illegal activity, including narcotics trafficking.</p>
<p>The disgraced banker was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">Organized Crime in North America section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Spanish police bust 20 suspected money launderers and drug traffickers, seize millions in assets
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/spanish-police-bust-20-suspected-money-launderers-and-drug-traffi
2023-02-27T13:49:36.000Z
2023-02-27T13:49:36.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10973755674?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a>Editors</p>
<p>A joint investigation led by the Spanish Guardia Civil resulted in the arrest of 20 suspected money launderers and drug traffickers and the seizure of over €5.5 million in criminal assets and over 2 tons of drugs. Based in the South of Spain, the criminal network was composed of Albanian, Italian, Spanish and Moroccan nationals, and was led by Italian nationals who evaded capture using forged identity documents.</p>
<p>These Italians had European Arrest Orders on them so they used falsified documents to veil their identities. Residing in towns between Seville and Malaga, they attempted to avoid detection by taking various security measures and by frequently changing their addresses.</p>
<p>The criminal network used a variety of money laundering methods to obfuscate their drug trafficking proceeds. These included the channeling of money - through business bank accounts using fake invoices, loans, or other debts - among a network of companies involved in the transport of drugs. Other methods used were investments in luxury real estate, rentals, luxury goods and vehicles, as well as cash payments.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Drug lab and marijuana plantation</strong></span></p>
<p>Investigations in this case began in October 2021, when a hashish shipment was found hidden in a lorry transporting pallets of onions. Law enforcement arrested the two drivers and seized 468 kilograms of hashish. This was followed by another seizure of 194 kilograms of hashish and 30 kilograms of marijuana in May 2022. In the same month a boat chartered by the criminal organization was intercepted by law enforcement on the open sea, resulting in the arrest of its three occupants, as well as the seizure of 1 800 kilograms of hashish and the vessel itself.</p>
<p>The interception of this large shipment from Morocco shows that it has become increasingly difficult for criminals to import drugs via the sea. To circumvent this issue, the organization had built a laboratory for hashish production and set up a large marijuana plantation in southern Spain. These were discovered in the course of the operation, which involved more than 150 law enforcement officials.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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CEO Fraud: French-Israeli gang made off with €38 million in few days
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/ceo-fraud-french-israeli-gang-made-off-with-38-million-in-few-day
2023-02-27T13:37:00.000Z
2023-02-27T13:37:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10973751077?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>A French-Israeli criminal gang involved in large-scale CEO fraud was busted last month, Europol reported. The group targeted companies located in France and made off with tens of millions.</p>
<p>In early December 2021, one of the suspects impersonated the CEO of a company specialized in metallurgy, based in the department of Haute-Marne in north-eastern France. The fraudster asked the company’s accountant to make an urgent and confidential transfer of €300,000 to a bank in Hungary.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-israeli-mafias-brief" target="_blank"><strong>The Israeli Mafia's brief invasion of New York</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The fraud was discovered a few days later when the accountant, thinking he was acting on behalf of the company’s CEO, attempted to make a transfer of €500,000. The company filed a complaint, and the investigators subsequently found that the call from the alleged CEO came from a number in Israel.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>€38 million up in smoke</strong></span></p>
<p>In late December 2021, a real estate developer based in Paris also felt victim to fraud with a similar modus operandi. The damages were much more significant in this case, however. To perpetrate the fraud, the suspects impersonated lawyers, saying they worked for a well-known French accounting company.</p>
<p>After gaining the victim’s trust, the fraudster requested a large, urgent and confidential transfer. Pretending to be consultants, they persuaded the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to transfer millions of euros abroad. In total, they defrauded the company of almost €38 million in a matter of days. Using a pre-existing money laundering scheme, these funds were quickly transferred to different European countries, then to China and finally to Israel.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/how-meyer-lansky-laundered-the-american-mafia-s-dirty-cash-and-ma" target="_blank"><strong>How mob boss Meyer Lansky laundered the American Mafia’s dirty cash – and made them bigger than U.S. Steel</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>A link between these two scams was established in January 2022 when the Parisian real estate company filed a complaint. The information exchange and international cooperation facilitated by Europol led to the discovery of accomplices, modi operandi and funds. The criminal investigation in Croatia contributed to the discovery of the real identity of the money mules used by the criminal network. The competent authorities in Croatia blocked and froze over €600,000 in several bank accounts. The Portuguese investigation led to the seizure of approximately €3 million held in multiple bank accounts. The Hungarian authorities discovered that more than €7 million had been received in Hungarian bank accounts before being withdrawn in cash or transferred to bank accounts in other countries. The Hungarian authorities interrogated 16 individuals, two of whom had been arrested previously and are currently under criminal supervision. They seized more than €1 million in several bank accounts.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:14pt;">Multiple agencies involved</span> </strong></p>
<p>The operation, led by France, involved the Croatian National Police (Hrvatska Policija), the Croatian Anti Money Laundering Office (Ured za sprječavanje pranja novca), the French National Police (Police Nationale), the French Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), the Hungarian Budapest Metropolitan Police (Budapesti Rendőr-főkapitányság), the Israel Police (משטרת ישראל), the Portuguese Judicial Police (Policia Judiciaria) and the Spanish National Police (Policía National).</p>
<p>The operational activities resulted in five action days, which took place between January 2022 and January 2023 in France and Israel, resulted in 8 arrests (6 in France, 2 in Israel, among them the leader).</p>
<p>Authorities seized electronic equipment and vehicles, about €3 million euro from Portuguese bank accounts, €1.1 million from Hungarian bank accounts, €600,000 from Croatian bank accounts, €400,000 from Spanish bank accounts, and €350,000 in virtual currencies.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Magnitsky case money launderer arrested in Spain as Russia’s dirty money was put into Spanish real estate
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/magnitsky-case-money-launderer-arrested-in-spain-as-russia-s-dirt
2022-12-21T12:17:53.000Z
2022-12-21T12:17:53.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10915430852?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Spanish authorities together with Europol and Eurojust took down a criminal gang laundering dirty money linked to the Magnitsky case, a €219 million corruption case in Russia, Europol reported last week. </p>
<p>The money laundering ring is believed to have funneled millions of euros through bank accounts in Europe before sending the funds to Spain to purchase real estate.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/the-billion-dollar-don" target="_blank"><strong>The Billion Dollar Mafia Don</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The individual at the center of this money laundering scheme has been arrested in the Canary Islands. A total of 75 properties have been seized so far across Spain for a cumulative value of €25 million.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Who was Sergei Magnitsky?</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10915424088,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10915424088?profile=RESIZE_400x" width="330" /></a>The €219 million at the heart of the fraud is known as the Magnitsky case. Its name derives from the Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky (right), an anticorruption specialist who uncovered massive tax fraud carried out by Russian tax officials. </p>
<p>Magnitsky was arrested and imprisoned for 11 months without a trial after he began investigating the case. Russian officials tried to pressure him into recanting his testimony, but he refused. As a result he was moved to worse prisons each time.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/spanish-court-rules-that-investments-of-tambovskaya-malyshevskaya" target="_blank"><strong>Spanish court rules investments of Tambovskaya-Malyshevskaya Russian Mafia clan not criminal</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>He was not given adequate care during the entire time he spent in prison and suffered frequent assaults. He died in Matrosskaya Tishina prison in 2009 at age 37.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Laundromat</strong></span></p>
<p>Spanish investigators were able to uncover how part of that dirty money ended up in Spanish real estate. A group of individuals were identified – all Russian nationals with little or no ties to Spain, alongside a number of shell companies with no real economic activity. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/how-russian-oligarchs-turned-the-country-of-latvia-into-their-own" target="_blank"><strong>How Russian oligarchs turned Latvia into their money laundering machine</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The dirty money was either sent to the bank accounts of these Russian citizens supposedly residing in Spain for them to purchase properties, or sent to Spanish real estate agencies with strong ties to the Russian community which would buy real estate on behalf of alleged clients. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/russian-mafia-overview">Russian Mafia section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Almost 2,500 money mules arrested in worldwide crackdown against money laundering
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/almost-2-500-money-mules-arrested-in-worldwide-crackdown-against
2022-12-05T10:20:22.000Z
2022-12-05T10:20:22.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10899820888?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Law enforcement from 25 countries, supported by Europol, Eurojust, INTERPOL and the European Banking Federation joined forces to crack down on one of the most important enablers of money laundering: money mules and their recruiters. </p>
<p>During an operational phase carried out between mid-September to the end of November 2022, 8,755 money mules were identified alongside 222 money mule recruiters, and 2,469 individuals were arrested worldwide, Europol reported today. 1,648 criminal investigations were initiated, 4,089 fraudulent transactions were identified, and €17.5 million euro was intercepted.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TkbgPXUf5eA" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p>Now in its eighth edition, the European Money Mule Action has gone international, with actions carried out in countries as far apart as Colombia, Singapore and Australia. EMMA is the largest international operation of its kind, built around the idea that public-private information sharing is key to fighting complex modern crimes.</p>
<p>Europol has a simple method of identifying whether you could find yourself operating as a money mule:</p>
<p><em>Have you ever been asked to help transfer money by:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><em>An online friend or love interest?</em></li>
<li><em>Someone offering a way to make easy money?</em></li>
<li><em>Someone claiming to need help as they can’t use their own bank account?</em></li>
</ul>
<p><em>If yes, you may have been talking to a money mule recruiter - and if you did what they asked, you may have committed a crime.</em></p>
<p>The issue may seem trivial, yet the amount of criminal money being laundered through this method is not, Europol states. Money mules are a significant part of the money laundering landscape, enabling criminals to swiftly move funds across a network of accounts, often in different countries. </p>
<p>The use of money mules is especially widespread in cybercrime, with the mules transfer the proceeds from their jurisdiction to the criminal’s home country.</p>
<p><strong>#DontBeaMule</strong></p>
<p>This week Europol, together with international partners, the European Banking Federation and financial institutions, will be raising awareness about this crime and its criminal implications through the <a href="https://www.europol.europa.eu/emma" target="_blank">#DontBeaMule campaign</a>. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Lifestyles of the rich and criminal ended by Spanish authorities as they seize drugs, luxury cars, properties
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-criminal-ended-by-spanish-authorities
2022-11-18T12:19:31.000Z
2022-11-18T12:19:31.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10886684085?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Spanish authorities arrested 10 individuals suspected of being involved in drug trafficking and money laundering, Europol reported on Tuesday. Spain’s Guardia Civil carried out house searches in a number of cities, which led to the disruption of a criminal network providing financial and technical support to other criminal groups in Europe.</p>
<p>The DEA, Europol, and several countries were involved in bringing down this organization. The first phase of the action took place less than a year ago in Barcelona and was decisive in obtaining conclusive evidence against this criminal organization.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/los-castanas-two-brothers-and-spain-s-most-notorious-drug-cartel" target="_blank"><strong>Los Castañas: Two brothers and Spain’s most notorious drug cartel</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Following an analysis of devices and documentation seized on the first action day, investigators were able to link 10 people with bringing 117 tons of hashish and over 3 tons of cocaine into Spain. During the second phase of the action, this week, the Guardia Civil raided venues in Barcelona, Ceuta, Almería and Malaga, where the suspects of Spanish, German and Moroccan nationality were apprehended.</p>
<p>Among them is the main suspect’s lawyer, who specializes in cases related to drug trafficking.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Tons of hashish, cocaine and over €1 million in cash</strong></span></p>
<p>In total, Spanish authorities arrested 27 suspects in the two-phase action, who were relying on assets such as 39 phones, a satellite phone, 8 computers, 3 microphone scanners as well as a cash counting machine to conduct their criminal activities. The most tangible of the items seized include 14 tons of hashish, 5.1 tons of cocaine and over €1 million euros in cash, which are now in the hands of law enforcement.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-of-spanish-drug-boss-sito-minanco-who-can-t-stop-smugglin" target="_blank"><strong>Profile: Spanish drug boss Sito Miñanco, who can’t stop smuggling tons of cocaine despite his fame</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The organized crime group clandestinely imported boats and powerful engines from the Netherlands, made them ready on a ship off the coast of Portugal, and then used them to collect and transfer the drugs from Morocco to Spain. Three vessels were subsequently seized, adding to the impressive list of confiscated valuables. These include 11 real estate properties, 5 companies, 36 luxury cars, the contents of 58 bank accounts and 12 luxury watches.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fyf4-mCbyNI" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Corporate business structure for money laundering</strong></span></p>
<p>Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre was decisive in uncovering a variety of methods used to transfer and launder the proceeds generated by drug trafficking. These include the clandestine transport of large amounts of cash, the use of the hawala system to transfer money, and investments in luxury goods such as yachts, luxury watches, luxury vehicles or real estate property and renovations. The criminal network further invested in companies located in several European countries, and used loans and mortgages to businesses to launder illicit funds.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Spanish authorities take down Europe’s biggest narco bank - €300 million a year laundered
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/spanish-authorities-take-down-europe-s-biggest-narco-bank-300-mil
2022-10-14T12:52:08.000Z
2022-10-14T12:52:08.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10841837678?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>The Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) and Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) have dismantled an organized crime group believed to be running Europe’s biggest “narco-bank,” Europol reported today.</p>
<p>Composed mainly of Syrian nationals, the criminal network running this bank provided financial services to criminal organizations linked to drug trafficking in more than twenty countries. Active since 2020, this criminal gang is believed to have laundered over €300 million per year.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/los-castanas-two-brothers-and-spain-s-most-notorious-drug-cartel"><strong>Los Castañas: Two brothers and Spain’s most notorious drug cartel</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>On September 27, over 200 law enforcement officers raided a total of 21 locations in the Spanish provinces of Málaga and Toledo, resulting in 32 arrests and the seizure of almost €3 million in criminal assets, including €428,205 in cash, 19 cryptocurrency accounts worth €1.5 million, and 11 luxury vehicles.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/87Pt2p9fSgM" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p>Authorities also seized 70 kilos of hashish, 1.2 tons of marijuana and a plantation with 995 marijuana plants.</p>
<p>These seizures follow the seizure of €2.9 million in cash made over the course of the investigation.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:14pt;">Local restaurant</span> </strong></p>
<p>Organized crime groups could make payments, receive funds and even have their proceeds laundered by this internationally structured financial network.</p>
<p>The Spanish city of Fuenlabrada appeared to be the center of the underground bank. The criminals ran their money laundering activities from a local restaurant where their customers would come to deposit or collect bulk cash.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-russian-mafia-in-spain"><strong>The Russian Mafia in Spain: Operation "Troika"</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The hawala informal money transfer system was the main money laundering typology used to avoid law enforcement detection. </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Europol’s role</strong></span></p>
<p>Europol’s support was central in the development of the Spanish investigation. Since May 2020, Europol has been providing continuous intelligence development and analysis to map out the international activity of this criminal network.</p>
<p>Two experts from Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre were also deployed to Madrid to assist the Spanish investigation with the cross-checking of operational information during the action day.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Spanish authorities break into narco bank, seize €4 million
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/spanish-authorities-break-into-narco-bank-seize-4-million
2022-09-15T06:44:47.000Z
2022-09-15T06:44:47.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10812562691?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>A massive international organized crime ring has been broken up in a joint operation between the Spanish Civil Guard and the German Criminal Bureau of Hamburg, Europol reported Monday. The crime group provided financial services to various criminal organizations mainly linked to drug trafficking.</p>
<p>In May 2022, law enforcement conducted 50 house searches across Spain and the German city of Hamburg, leading to the arrest of 44 individuals of Chinese, Spanish, Moroccan and German nationality.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/greedy-sharks-the-new-rule-for-banking-in-eastern-europe-makes-fr"><strong>Greedy Sharks: The new rule for banking in Eastern Europe that makes fraudulent oligarchs billions</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Authorities also issued 19 international arrest warrants and confiscated over €4 million euros in cash, jewelry, and 23 luxury vehicles. Europol coordinated the collaboration between the countries and deployed three specialists on the spot during the day of the arrests.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Underground banking system</strong></span></p>
<p>The modus operandi used by the criminal network consisted in moving large amounts of cash via a sophisticated underground banking system. Organized crime groups could make payments, receive funds and even have their proceeds laundered by this internationally structured financial network.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cOc4YmKmfFI" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p>Individuals involved in the network picked up physical cash directly from criminal organizations. These large amounts of cash were transported in vehicles equipped with hidden compartments and fed into a common cash pool, which was dispersed across various international locations. Other criminal organizations could use these funds to finance their criminal activities or to provide cross-border payments.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Hundreds of kilos of drugs seized</strong></span></p>
<p>The illicit financing system was largely based on money generated in the illegal drug trade, with one part of the organization sending up to 200 kilos of hashish and cannabis a week from Spain to other parts of Europe.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/spanish-court-rules-that-investments-of-tambovskaya-malyshevskaya"><strong>Spanish court rules investments of Tambovskaya-Malyshevskaya Russian Mafia clan not criminal</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The day of the arrests in May of 2022, law enforcement seized 98 kilograms of cannabis – with an additional 123 kilograms seized a few days later – contributing to a total of 650 kilograms connected to this case. Furthermore, 51 kilograms of hashish were confiscated during the raids.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Man behind network that smuggled £104 million from Great Britain to Dubai in 1 year gets 9 years in prison
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/man-behind-network-that-smuggled-104-million-from-great-britain-t
2022-07-31T14:06:52.000Z
2022-07-31T14:06:52.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10736876288?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>The ringleader of a money laundering group which smuggled tens of millions of British pounds of criminal cash out of the United Kingdom has been jailed for 9 years on Thursday. 47-year-old Abdullah Mohammed Ali Bin Beyat Alfalasi arranged travel for a network of couriers, who between them smuggled £104 million from Great Britain to Dubai in just 11 months.</p>
<p>Alfalasi, an Emirati national, was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers at a flat in Belgravia during a visit to the United Kingdom in December last year. Four of his couriers have already been convicted as part of the NCA’s operation.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Drug profits</strong></span></p>
<p>The cash was believed to be profits from drug dealing, and the couriers would pack hundreds of thousands of pounds at a time into suitcases. They were each paid £3,000 - £8,000 per trip depending on how much cash they were smuggling.</p>
<p>Overall, the group took at least 10 percent cut from the money smuggled, so between them are likely to have made in excess of £12 million from the venture.</p>
<p>Alfalasi made multiple cash trips himself between Dubai and the UK, from November 2019 to March 2020. His name appeared on letters bearing the name Omnivest Gold Trading LLC, which was used to cover cash declarations made by the couriers. His phone number was also connected to their flight bookings.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/one-of-britain-s-most-wanted-drug-traffickers-caught-in-dubai" target="_blank"><strong>One of Britain’s most wanted drug traffickers caught in Dubai</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The network collected cash from criminal groups around the UK and took it to counting houses, usually rented apartments in Central London.</p>
<p>The wads of bank notes were then vacuum packed and separated into suitcases which would each contain around £500,000, weighing around 40 kilos. Each would be sprayed with coffee or air fresheners in an effort to prevent them being found by Border Force detection dogs.</p>
<p>The couriers flew business class due to the extra luggage allowance.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Fuels violence and insecurity around the world”</strong></span></p>
<p>NCA senior investigating officer Ian Truby said: “This money laundering network smuggled astronomical sums of money out of the UK, and is one of the largest we’ve ever investigated. Cash is the lifeblood of organized crime groups, which they re-invest into activities such as drug trafficking which fuels violence and insecurity around the world.”</p>
<p>International money laundering networks use cash smuggling, cryptocurrencies, and banking systems to move billions of pounds of dirty money each year. This cash can be derived from the drugs trade, fraud, other illegal commodities, and even associated with terrorism and conflicts around the world.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-untouchables-how-britain-s-top-gangsters-rich-off-armed-robbe" target="_blank"><strong>The Untouchables: How Britain’s top gangsters got rich off armed robberies and smuggling tons of drugs</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>“This is one of the largest money laundering cases the CPS has ever prosecuted to date,” John Werhun of the CPS said. “A colossal amount of dirty money, totaling £104 million, was transported to Dubai under Alfalasi’s instructions. The evidence against Alfalasi was overwhelming, with invoices, declaration documents and images of cash-filled suitcases, pointing to his culpability.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>The network</strong></span></p>
<p>Among Alfalasi’s couriers were 55-year-old Nicola Esson, from Leeds, who was arrested following NCA raids in May 2021, and 29-year-old Muhammad Ilyas, from Slough, who was apprehended in February 2020.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/british-secret-agents-have-a-license-to-commit-crime" target="_blank"><strong>British secret agents have a license to commit crime</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Esson travelled from Heathrow to Dubai on three occasions in August and September 2020, checking in 19 suitcases with a combined weight of almost half a ton. She returned a few days after each trip with the same baggage items, which weighed significantly less each time.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10736879856,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="300" alt="10736879856?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a>Ilyas was arrested by NCA officers at Heathrow Airport after arriving on a flight from Dubai. He had checked in four suitcases at the airport ten days earlier, one of which had gone missing, and declared almost £1.5 million in cash to Dubai Customs. The missing suitcase was subsequently found by Border Force officers, and contained £431,360 in cash.</p>
<p>Esson, Ilyas and Alfalasi pleaded guilty to money laundering charges at Isleworth Crown Court on 18 May, 27 May and 27 June respectively. Alfalasi (right) was sentenced at the same court on Thursday, with the remaining two due to be sentenced at a later date.</p>
<p>Two other couriers linked to the same network have already been jailed following investigations by the NCA.</p>
<p>Tara Hanlon, 31, from Leeds, was detained by Border Force at Heathrow in October 2020 as she attempted to leave the country with suitcases containing almost £2 million. She later admitted smuggling another £3.5 million out of the UK in other trips, and was sentenced to 34 months imprisonment in July 2021.</p>
<p>Czech national Zdenek Kamaryt, 39, was also stopped at Heathrow in November 2020. He was attempting to board a flight to Dubai carrying £1.4 million. Kamaryt pleaded guilty to 3 counts of money laundering and was sentenced to 34 months imprisonment in March last year.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Armenian gang busted in France over counterfeit cigarettes – Used winning lottery tickets to launder profits
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/armenian-gang-busted-in-france-over-counterfeit-cigarettes-used-w
2022-03-31T12:14:22.000Z
2022-03-31T12:14:22.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10252106659?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Eleven alleged members of an Armenian organized crime group involved in the large-scale import and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes were arrested by French authorities with the support of Europol.</p>
<p>Over 40 judicial customs investigators, with the support of special intervention teams of the French National Police (RAID) and two Europol experts deployed on the ground on March 15 and simultaneously searched 13 sites, including industrial premises as well as private residences, in and around the city of Lyon.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/coast-to-coast-pure-armenian-blood-gang-under-patronage-of-us-bas" target="_blank"><strong>Coast-to-Coast “Pure Armenian Blood” gang under patronage of US-based “Vor v Zakone” busted by Feds</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Winning lottery tickets</strong></span></p>
<p>In addition to the arrests, over 2.5 tons of counterfeit cigarettes were seized, worth about 1,250,000 euros in France, alongside 100,000 euros in cash and 150,000 euros in winning lottery tickets bought by the criminals to launder the profits. Four guns and many types of ammunition were seized.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10252106692,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10252106692?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a>The French investigators have since then been able to uncover that the counterfeit cigarettes were imported from different European countries, before being stored in warehouses located in industrial areas and then sold on the black market in several French cities.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
British police seize gold bars from international money laundering network
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/british-police-seize-gold-bars-from-international-money-launderin
2022-02-02T09:56:39.000Z
2022-02-02T09:56:39.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10064746471?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>You can’t beat gold. Make it rain with dollars, euros or pounds all you want, but nothing makes it rain like gold. Better yet, it’s the original blockchain. Melt it down and nobody can trace it. Weigh it and its worth the same amount as before. Old school but still an ideal money laundering tool.</p>
<p>No wonder then that many modern-day criminal groups still use it to launder their dirty money. In Great Britain, the National Crime Agency (NCA) last week obtained a forfeiture order for 15 gold bars worth £650,000 that are linked to an international money laundering network.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>The woman from Singapore</strong></span></p>
<p>NCA financial investigators took up the case after a Singaporean national was stopped at Heathrow Airport in March 2020, having arrived on a flight from Singapore. The woman was transiting through the airport to catch a plane to Chennai, India, and Border Force officers found she was carrying the bars in her hand luggage.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>WATCH: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/dressed-as-cops-robbers-steal-40-million-worth-of-gold-at-sao-pau" target="_blank"><strong>Dressed as cops, robbers steal $40 million worth’ of gold at Sao Paulo airport in Brazil</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>She initially told NCA investigators she was taking the bars from a jeweler in Singapore to another jeweler in India. She had no explanation for her strange routing. The gold was seized as suspected proceeds of crime, and the woman was allowed to continue on her journey.</p>
<p>Further enquiries by the NCA revealed invoices she was carrying for the gold were fake, and the Chennai jeweler did not exist. Following a two-day hearing at Uxbridge Magistrates on Wednesday 26 January 2022, the NCA was awarded forfeiture of the bars under the Proceeds of Crime Act.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Active in both Europe and Asia”</strong></span></p>
<p>“Gold is an attractive commodity for criminals to use to move money because relatively small amounts can have a high value,” NCA Branch Commander Andy Noyes said. “Our investigation pointed to these gold bars belonging to a criminal money laundering network active in both Europe and Asia."</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-story-of-organized-crime-is-the-story-of-the-modern-world-jou" target="_blank">“The story of organized crime is the story of the modern world”</a> – Journalists explore global crime in Underworld podcast</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>“We think they were attempting to move them through London to try and disguise their routing, and avoid the attentions of Indian law enforcement upon arrival there. NCA investigators worked with Indian partners to disprove the story given to officers by the woman carrying the gold bars, and show that on the balance of probabilities they were proceeds of crime. Working with partners like Border Force we are determined to do all we can to disrupt the flow of illicit money coming through the UK.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
The Digital Gold Rush? Debunking common myths on the criminal use of cryptocurrencies
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/the-digital-gold-rush-debunking-common-myths-on-the-criminal-use
2022-01-26T16:18:05.000Z
2022-01-26T16:18:05.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10048237089?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Europol’s new report <a href="https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications-events/publications/cryptocurrencies-tracing-evolution-of-criminal-finances" target="_blank">Cryptocurrencies: tracing the evolution of criminal finances</a> offers insights into how criminals are using cryptocurrencies today. Based on the latest operational information contributed to Europol, data collected for the EU Serious Organized Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) 2021 and open sources, this report debunks the following myths:</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Myth #1 – Cryptocurrencies have become the payment method of choice for criminals</strong></span></p>
<p>The use of cryptocurrency as part of criminal schemes is increasing, and the uptake of this payment medium accelerating. However, the overall number and value of cryptocurrency transactions related to criminal activities still represent only a limited share of the criminal economy when compared to cash and other forms of transactions. A range of constraints are related to the use of cryptocurrencies, with high volatility a major factor in criminals’ reluctance to use cryptocurrencies for long-term investments.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Myth #2 – The criminal use of cryptocurrency is limited to cybercrime</strong></span></p>
<p>The criminal use of cryptocurrency is no longer primarily confined to cybercrime activities, but now relates to all types of crime that require the transmission of monetary value, including fraud and drug trafficking. However, the scale and share of the illicit use of cryptocurrencies as part of criminal activities is difficult to estimate. Criminal networks involved in serious and organized crime also continue to rely on traditional fiat money and transactions to a large degree, in addition to emerging value transfer opportunities.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Myth #3 – Illicit funds flow straight from wallet to wallet</strong></span></p>
<p>Criminals have become more sophisticated in their use of cryptocurrencies. The illicit funds increasingly travel through a multi-step process involving financial entities, many of which are novel and are not yet part of standardized, regulated financial and payment markets. Obfuscation methods and other countermeasures continue to be developed and used by criminals.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Myth #4 – Cryptocurrencies provide anonymity</strong></span></p>
<p>Cryptocurrencies are not anonymous. Every single transaction is logged onto the blockchain, which is a ledger of all transactions distributed to all users in the network. Most blockchains are publicly available, making transactions traceable. This gives law enforcement access to substantially more information than a case involving cash. While privacy coins and a number of services and techniques may hinder law enforcement investigations, it does by no means stop law enforcement from finding out who is hiding behind the crime.</p>
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Spanish Moroccan crime group busted for large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/spanish-moroccan-crime-group-busted-for-large-scale-drug-traffick
2021-12-21T05:48:13.000Z
2021-12-21T05:48:13.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9930717297?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>An international drug trafficking organization was busted on 14 and 15 December by the Belgian Federal Police, the French Gendarmerie, and the Spanish Civil Guard with support by Europol. The gang was comprised of Spanish and Moroccan nationals and allegedly smuggled tons of hashish and cocaine from Morocco to Spain.</p>
<p>The group trafficked the drugs to Southern Spain using speedboats. Two seizures made earlier in 2021, four of 4300 kg hashish and one of 1300 kg cocaine, are connected to this criminal organization.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Major boss</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9930717668,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9930717668?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="208" height="141" /></a></strong></span>In total 17 individuals were arrested - 11 Spanish and 6 Moroccan nationals. Two of these had an international arrest warrant against them in connection to a seizure of 1004 kg cocaine made in 2018 in Morocco.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>ALSO READ: <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/from-morocco-to-spain-in-30-minutes-how-a-crime-group-smuggled-mi" target="_blank">From Morocco to Spain in 30 minutes</a>: How gang smuggled migrants and cannabis on jet skis</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The alleged leader of the organization is believed to be one of the major importers of cocaine and hashish from Morocco to the Iberian Peninsula. Spanish Civil Guard officers arrested him while he was coordinating a number of seaborne drug trafficking operations.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Using legal businesses to wash the drug money</strong></span></p>
<p>The organized crime group created and misused a large network of companies, including several cash-intensive businesses such as two restaurants in Barcelona. These businesses served to launder the drug trafficking proceeds.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cpTBrPu8JWE" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p>The profits were also laundered through the payment of mortgages and simulated loans. The suspects also used cash to cover costs related to facilitating their drug trafficking activities and buying the required equipment, such as cars and vessels. A large number of the assets owned by the suspects and their families were not justified by any legally obtained and declared resource.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>€6 million seized</strong></span></p>
<p>Authorities searched 16 houses located in Barcelona, Cadiz and Galicia and seized goods worth more than €6 million including: 10 luxury watches worth about €2.1 million, 8 real estate properties worth about €1.9 million, more than €1 million in cash, 26 cars worth about €1 million, 1 vessel valued at approximately €100,000, 760 lottery tickets with a value of €15,200, a banknote counter, a large number of smartphones and electronic equipment, and 33 bank accounts.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9930715899,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9930715899?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="609" /></a></p>
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Members of Casalesi Camorra clan busted in €100 million money laundering scheme
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/members-of-casalesi-camorra-clan-busted-in-100-million-money-laun
2021-10-15T10:51:41.000Z
2021-10-15T10:51:41.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9703905461?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>Police in Italy arrested 63 people on Monday in a large-scale investigation into money laundering by the Camorra, specifically the Casalesi clan, based in Casal di Principe north of Caserta.</p>
<p>They are suspected of having laundered over €100 million euros for the Casalesi clan via “systematic and massive tax fraud”, police told Italian news agency <a href="https://www.ansa.it" target="_blank">Ansa</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-casalesi-clan-of-the" target="_blank">Casalesi clan</a> is one of the most infamous and violent <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/camorra-overview" target="_blank">Camorra</a> groups, best known as the clan whose death threats meant crime author Roberto Saviano had to live in hiding and will need bodyguards 24/7 for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9703905667,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="475" alt="9703905667?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a><em><strong>Photo: Scene from the television series Gomorrah, based on Roberto Saviano's book about the Camorra.</strong></em></p>
<p>With its stronghold in Casal di Principe, the Casalesis are active in crimes ranging from extortion and construction to waste management, prostitution, and drug trafficking.</p>
<p>They are comprised of several <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/camorra-overview" target="_blank">Camorra clans</a> from the Caserta region. In past decades the clan underwent several violent wars between its bosses and committed over a thousand killings to maintain control over its territories.</p>
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Italian Mafia goes online: 106 arrested in Europol sting against online fraudsters - €10M made in 1 year
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/italian-mafia-goes-online-106-arrested-in-europol-sting-against-o
2021-09-22T17:20:22.000Z
2021-09-22T17:20:22.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9596780079?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>The Italian Mafia has quite the track record. Nothing but glory days. But crooks can’t live in the past if they want to make money in the present. Europol, in cooperation with various police agencies, busted a large-scale organized crime group with links to the Mafia involved in online fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking and property crime. The gang stole €10 million euros in just one year.</p>
<p>The suspects defrauded hundreds of victims through phishing attacks and other types of online fraud such as SIM swapping and business email compromise. They then laundered the illicit money through a wide network of money mules and shell companies. Last year alone, the illegal profit is estimated at about €10 million.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Experts in computers, cryptocurrencies, and organizing</strong></span></p>
<p>This large criminal network was organized in a pyramid structure, which included different specialized areas and roles. The group was comprised of computer experts, who created the phishing domains and carried out the cyber fraud; recruiters and organizers of the money muling; and money laundering experts, including experts in cryptocurrencies.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafia-math-calculating-italian-organized-crime-s-illicit-income" target="_blank"><strong>Mafia Math: Calculating Italian organized crime’s illicit income</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Most of the suspected members are Italian nationals, some of whom have links to <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/italian-organized-crime" target="_blank">Mafia organizations</a>. Located in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), the suspects tricked their victims, mainly Italian nationals, into sending large sums to bank accounts controlled by the criminal network.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Cyber Cops</strong></span></p>
<p>The Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional), supported by the Italian National Police (Polizia di Stato), Europol and Eurojust took part in the bust. Europol facilitated the information exchange, the operational coordination and provided analytical support for this investigation, which lasted over a year.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-gangsters-try-and-fail-to-evade-government-surveillance" target="_blank"><strong>How gangsters try (and fail) to evade government surveillance</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>During the operational activities, Europol deployed two analysts and one forensic expert to Tenerife, Spain and one analyst to Italy. Additionally, Europol funded the deployment of three Italian investigators to Tenerife to support the Spanish authorities during the action day.</p>
<p>The Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT) at Europol supported the operation. This standing operational team consists of cyber liaison officers from different countries who work from the same office on high profile cybercrime investigations.</p>
<p><strong>Overall results:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>106 arrests, mostly in Spain and some in Italy</li>
<li>16 house searches</li>
<li>118 bank accounts frozen</li>
<li>Seizures include many electronic devices, 224 credit cards, SIM cards and point-of-sale terminals, a marihuana plantation and equipment for its cultivation and distribution.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.<br /></strong></p></div>