Europol busted underground crypto bankers across six countries, seizing €25M+ in assets and weakening major crime networks.
Europol has just scored one of the biggest victories with the dismantling of an underground network of bankers running crypto dirty operations. These bankers weren’t your everyday fraudsters but professionals who had been involved in money laundering to feed drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and even contract killers.
It was a huge takedown: six countries, including Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and the United States. The operation focused on a Europol-coordinated strike in Malaga, Spain, managing to arrest nine suspects with more than €25 million in cryptocurrency, €35,000 in cash, and a haul of gold and luxury goods. These arrests reached deep into the financial networks that keep international crime groups running.
Of course, it is not Europol’s first rodeo; after all, there were other similar busts like Operations GORGON and WHITEWALL, in which they targeted the financial backbones of the criminal networks. Plus with their expertise in organized crime and financial investigations, law enforcers are turning the screw on underground banking.
What is unique about this bust, however, is the international collaboration wherein agencies across Europe, even extending to the U.S., shared information and coordinated efforts. The results? The crime networks are left scrambling, and Europol has sent a very clear message: there’s nowhere to hide from them.
This operation does not just undermine criminal organizations; it shows that the key to really knocking out these criminal organizations is through international cooperation.
You might like: Crypto Crime Boss Caught in India After Running Epic Scams
