Angelika Hellweger of Rahman Ravelli outlines the investigation
A total of 23 people have been arrested and currencies worth tens of millions of euros have been seized in an investigation into a cross-border European money laundering scheme.
An international investigation spanning several years involving Spanish, Cypriot and German authorities led to the arrests, the seizure of eight million euros and the freezing of two million euros in bank accounts and cryptocurrencies worth 27 million euros.
The money laundering scheme is believed to have handled approximately 100 million euros. The group that ran it acted as service providers for other criminals looking to launder their proceeds of crime.
Investigations into it began in 2023 when Spanish border police noticed suspicious trips from their airports involving the transporting of large amounts of money. Trips to Cyprus by members of the laundering group to deliver criminal profits were then identified.
Further investigations revealed that the group was running a sophisticated money laundering and transferring service for other criminal organisations. Cryptocurrencies were being used to move wealth between criminals, cash was transported on commercial flights, mainly to Cyprus, and by public transport to countries neighbouring Spain.
Between four and six money laundering transactions were carried out each week. The group is believed to have had at least 52 members, operating mostly from Spain and Cyprus, who had contacts with a number of commercial companies around the world.
A joint investigation team was set up involving Eurojust (the European Union agency for coordination of criminal investigations), Europol (the European Union's law enforcement agency) and Spanish, Cypriot and German authorities. Europol provided financial crime experts specialised in fighting high-risk criminal networks, analysing money laundering structures and tracing cryptocurrency flows.
In October and November last year, a total of 91 searches were carried out in Spain, France and Cyprus. This led to 20 arrests in Spain, one in France and two in Slovenia.
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