33 money laundering crypto criminals targeted worldwide in 3 separate cases

Published at: Oct. 16, 2020

Law enforcement officials from around the world hav taken action against a major transnational money laundering operation involving cryptocurrency.

On Oct. 15, Europol announced a successful operation across 16 countries that resulted in the arrest of 20 individuals suspected of working for the QQAAZZ criminal network.

The organization is accused of laundering tens of millions of euros for top cybercriminals since 2016. The funds are allegedly transferred through international bank accounts, shell companies based in Poland and Bulgaria, and via cryptocurrency mixing services.

Around 40 homes were searched across the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Latvia, and Bulgaria as part of “Operation 2BaGoldMule,” with arrests made in Australia, the U.S, the U.K, Portugal, Spain, Latvia, and Poland.

Bitcoin mining equipment was also seized in Bulgaria.

On the same day, a 40-year-old man was arrested in New Zealand for using cryptocurrency to launder more than $2 million for criminals. The man also laundered funds by purchasing luxury vehicles, including a Lamborghini and Mercedes G63.

The Auckland resident is now facing 30 charges, including allegations of obtaining $1 million in credit from a bank using deception. Six other New Zealanders were arrested in a series of raids and asset seizures across the country the previous day.

Oct. 15 also saw the U.S. Department of Justice unseal a superseding indictment charging six individuals for their participation in a conspiracy to “launder millions of dollars of drug proceeds on behalf of foreign cartels.”

The indictment alleges the individuals used casinos, front companies, cash smuggling, and bank accounts to launder money on behalf of drug syndicates. One suspect is also accused of planning to bribe a United States Department of State official using cryptocurrency, hoping the official would create fraudulent U.S. passports for him and his associates.

Tags
Aml
Related Posts
Five Nations Launch Tax Enforcement Alliance to Tackle Crypto, Cybercrime 'Threat'
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched an international taskforce together with tax enforcement authorities from four other countries to take on cryptocurrency-enabled crimes, according to a press release published Monday, July 2. The new coalition, dubbed ‘The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement,’ or ‘J5,’ comprises tax enforcement agencies from five countries in total –– Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, alongside the U.S. As part of J5, the agencies will cooperate on intelligence and criminal investigations “to reduce the growing threat to tax administrations posed by cryptocurrencies and cybercrime,” as well as to target transnational …
United States / July 3, 2018
Crypto in the crosshairs: US regulators eye the cryptocurrency sector
In her monthly Expert Take column, Selva Ozelli, an international tax attorney and CPA, covers the intersection between emerging technologies and sustainability, and provides the latest developments around taxes, AML/CFT regulations and legal issues affecting crypto and blockchain. Lately, news headlines are focused on regulators’ concerns over the lack of investor protections in the cryptocurrency market, which has ballooned to more than $2 trillion, and the possible risks to financial stability. National security agencies across the administration of United States President Joe Biden are grappling with high-profile cases of cryptocurrencies playing a role in ransomware attacks, intellectual property espionage, sanctions …
Regulation / Oct. 24, 2021
OneCoin Founder’s Brother Is Dismissed From Civil Class Action
Konstantin Ignatov, a major figure behind OneCoin cryptocurrency exit scam, was dismissed from a civil class action brought by OneCoin victims. According to an Aug. 7 report by Finance Magnates, OneCoin investors have agreed for a settlement with Ignatov. In a court filing on Aug. 6, plaintiffs Donald Berdeaux and Christine Grablis agreed to discontinue the claims asserted against Ignatov. Still facing up to 90 years in jail in a legal action brought by the United States’ Department of Justice (DOJ), Ignatov is apparently no longer one of the key figures in a civil case, which is related to financial …
Regulation / Aug. 7, 2020
COVID-19 Pandemic Spurs Crypto Law Updates in J5 Countries
Cybercriminals are taking full advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced life into a digital realm, by leveraging increased fear and uncertainty to steal money and launder it through the complex cryptocurrency ecosystem. Accordingly, the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, known as the J5, has ramped up its efforts by arresting cybercriminals suspected of laundering millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, according to a J5 joint statement. The J5 also has been updating its Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism laws for cryptocurrencies in accordance with Financial Action Task Force standards, with Australian researchers having linked half …
Blockchain / April 18, 2020
Crypto Fights for Freedom in India’s Supreme Court, Critics Cite Risk
Following the session that took place last August, a three-judge panel from India’s Supreme Court reconvened once again this week to discuss the much-hyped Crypto v. RBI case. During the last hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to clarify its position as to why exactly it enforced a nationwide banking ban on the country’s crypto market, as well as to discuss the seemingly unconstitutional nature of its aforementioned move. Ever since the RBI decided to go ahead and issue its controversial prohibition order, a number of public and industry-led petitions have been filed by …
United States / Jan. 19, 2020