In January, European law enforcement agencies arrested 17 suspects of a “Mafia Crypto Bank” who washed over 21 million euros (23.5 million US dollars) in crypto in crypto for crime in China and the Middle East.
The money laundering services were allegedly carried out on behalf of other criminal networks that cope with migrant smuggling and drug trafficking, Europol said in an announcement on May 14.
According to Spanish authorities, the criminal organization led a secret informal money transfer system called Hawala and was often compensated in crypto.
A complete of 17 people were arrested -15 in Spain, one in Austria and one in Belgium -while objects of 4.5 million euros (5 million US dollars) were confiscated, including money, crypto, 18 vehicles, 4 shotguns and several other electronic devices.
Of the 4.5 million euros, 183,000 euros (205,000 US dollars) got here as crypto. Another 421,000 euros ($ 471,000) in money were confiscated by 77 bank accounts that were certain to the criminal organization, which a Spanish news agency called “Mafia Crypto Bank”.
Luxury bags, watches and even cigars value 876,000 euros (980,000 US dollars) were also confiscated, said Spanish officials.
Scenes of European law enforcement efforts and assets that were confiscated by the criminal organization. Source: Europol
The seizures of arrests and assets took place in Spain, Austria and Belgium in January 2025, said Europol. The Spanish authorities added greater than 250 officers.
Most of the arrested have already been detained
Of the 17 arrested, 15 were already locked up as suspected perpetrators of the crimes related to the organization.
Most of the arrested were Chinese and Syrian citizenship who were geared toward customers in China and the Arabic -speaking criminal world.
The criminal organization tried to cover up its money laundering activities by operating a transfer business and even promoting these services on social media.
The investigation was led by a court in AlmerÃa, Spain, which coordinates the efforts of Europol, Spanish and Belgian officials to scale back the criminal organization.
The Blockchain Forensics company Chainalysis estimates that illegal crypto transactions in 2024 charged $ 51.3 billion, which was 11.3% in comparison with the previous yr.
