Mega operation of Europol/ 27 million euros of cryptocurrency are seized, 9 arrested

2024-12-18 11:42:00, Kronika CNA

Mega operation of Europol/ 27 million euros of cryptocurrency are seized, 9

Europol has supported law enforcement authorities from six countries to bring down secret bankers who moved and laundered the proceeds of large-scale drug trafficking and other serious crimes. Building on findings from two major investigations, Operation GORGON and Operation WHITEWALL, this follow-up operation involved close cooperation between Europol's experts in serious and organized crime and financial investigations. The operations led to the arrest of nine suspects and the seizure of evidence (documents, mobile phones), valuables (gold, luxury goods), 35,000 euros in cash and 25 million euros in cryptocurrencies.

Operation WHITEWALL was the first criminal investigation of what was to become a Europol Operational Task Force focused on underground banking. It aimed to disrupt and dismantle the financial networks that provided 'crime as a service'. Mainly controlled by the United Arab Emirates and operating across the EU and beyond, these criminal service providers cater to those who need to hide the origin of large amounts of illegal income.

One of the main findings of the investigation was that a member of an Albania-based criminal network targeted during Operation GORGON was facilitating the transfer of large sums of money through cryptocurrencies. Used not only by the Albanian underworld, but also by other criminal organizations and high-value targets, this is an innovative approach to money laundering.

The dismantling of these sophisticated criminal enterprises relied on Europol's multifaceted expertise in the various areas of crime under investigation. Operations GORGON and WHITEWALL highlighted many aspects of organized crime, with shadow banking and money laundering not only functioning as financial crimes in their own right, but also as services to those involved in drug trafficking, murder for hire and trafficking of weapons, to name just a few of the crimes in which the networks are involved.

In the wake of these long-term investigations, some of which are still ongoing, Europol has distributed numerous intelligence and analytical reports to cooperating partners, as well as numerous operational meetings held at the Agency's headquarters in the Netherlands or in Spain and Albania. During the action days, Europol sent specialists and analysts to the raids, where they provided expertise in organized crime, financial crime and asset recovery. Cryptocurrency experts and cyber specialists supported operations on the ground with mobile offices as well as from Europol headquarters, offering their digital forensics and remote investigation capabilities.