LISBON, Portugal – European and American officials announced the arrest of 20 people in multiple countries for allegedly belonging to an international ring that has laundered millions of euros stolen by cybercriminals through malware.
The international police operation “2BaGoldMule” led by Portuguese investigators and the FBI included 14 other European countries under the umbrella of Europol. Europol said more than 40 homes were searched by agents in Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Latvia during the operation, the Associated Press reported.
Most of the house searches were carried out in Latvia, where six people were arrested. Another six arrests were made in the U.K., four in Spain and one each in Portugal, Poland, the United States and Australia, according to Europol.
The ring “QQAAZZ” allegedly laundered the stolen funds of cyber criminals and transferred them between hundreds of bank accounts in banks around the world, officials said. The ring included citizens of Russia, Latvia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania and Belgium, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The ring laundered money stolen from victims in the U.S. and European countries. The suspects are under criminal investigation in the U.S., Portugal, Spain and the U.K.
“This operation showed that by working together we can fight the global nature of cybercrime. This is the only way forward, ”said Carlos Cabreiro, director of the Portuguese National Unit for Fighting Cybercrime.