Europol, US Secret Service, And Spanish Police In Biggest Ever Credit Card Fraud Bust

Europol, US Secret Service, And Spanish Police In Biggest Ever Credit Card Fraud Bust

Europol, US Secret Service, And Spanish Police In Biggest Ever Credit Card Fraud Bust. image: policia nacional

EUROPOL, US Secret Service, And Spanish Police In Biggest Ever Credit Card Fraud Bust Carried Out In Four Countries

A massive cross-border operation by Europol, led by Spain’s National Police and the US Secret Service, resulted in the dismantling of an organised crime group involved in fraud and money laundering.

The operation also involved police services from Austria, Denmark, and Greece, as well as the US Department of Justice, and the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

On the coordinated Europol action day, October 6, 2020, law enforcement officers carried out more than 40 house searches, arrested 37 suspects (2 in Austria, 11 in Greece, 23 in Spain, and 1 in the UK), and seized 13 luxury cars. The follow-up actions led to the freezing of 87 bank accounts worth €1.3 million.

  • 105 suspects arrested
  • 88 house searches
  • Over €12 million in damages
  • 87 accounts with more than €1.3 million frozen
  • €406 000 euros seized in cash
  • 14 high-end vehicles seized
  • 19 European arrest warrants executed

The criminal organisation, mainly formed of Greek nationals, set up shell companies in the United States and opened bank accounts for these companies. To gain the trust of the financial institutions, members of the criminal network made transfers to the US-based accounts from different locations in the EU.

Based on this trust, the American-based banks issued debit and credit cards for these accounts. Retailers in on the scam, most of whom were in Spain, used the payment cards to finance the available credited amounts on the cards.

To launder the stolen funds, they transferred them to different bank accounts, owned by members of the criminal network located in several EU countries. More than 50 American financial institutions became victims of these fraudulent activities losing over €12 million.

Europol facilitated the information exchange, the operational coordination and provided analytical support for this eight months-long investigation.

During the operation, Europol set up a coordination centre at its headquarters, with the use of a virtual command post to enable liaison officers from the involved countries, Europol experts, and a representative from Eurojust to coordinate the operational activities.

Europol also deployed an analyst to Greece to provide real-time analytical support to investigators on the ground. The Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT) at Europol supported the operation. This standing operational team consists of cyber liaison officers from different countries who work from the same office on high profile cybercrime investigations.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

Comments


    • sean

      04 February 2021 • 10:56

      sounds like the banking and tax system anyone?! Go and get a real job losers..

    • edgar wright

      04 February 2021 • 14:27

      Spain again, ??????????????????

    Comments are closed.