Law enforcement agencies in Italy and Spain have dismantled an
organized crime group linked to the Italian Mafia that was involved
in online fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, and property
crime, netting the gang about €10 million ($11.7 million) in
illegal proceeds in just a year.
“The suspects defrauded hundreds of victims through phishing
attacks and other types of online fraud such as SIM swapping and
business email compromise before laundering the money through a
wide network of money mules and shell companies,” Europol said[1]
in a statement published today.
The group operated out of Tenerife, located in Spain’s Canary
Islands.
The development comes following a year-long sting operation that
saw as many as 16 house searches, resulting in 106 arrests — mostly
in Spain and Italy — and seizure of electronic devices, 224 credit
cards, SIM cards, point-of-sale terminals, a marijuana plantation,
and equipment used for its cultivation and distribution. 118 bank
accounts have also been frozen as a result of the bust.
The criminal network is said to have been fashioned as a pyramid
structure, with different members roped in for specialized roles,
including computer experts, who created phishing domains and
facilitated cyber fraud, as well as recruiters who were involved in
money muling activities, and specialists adept in cryptocurrencies
and money laundering.
The arrested members, a majority of whom are Italian nationals
with links to mafia cartels, lured their victims into transferring
large amounts of money to bank accounts under their control. The
illicitly acquired profits were then laundered through a wide
network of money mules and shell companies.
The investigation was undertaken jointly by the Spanish National
Police (Policía Nacional), and supported by the Italian National
Police (Polizia di Stato), Europol, and Eurojust.