Europol seizes €27M in cryptocurrencies from drug traffickers
Europol has announced that it took down underground bankers suspected of moving and laundering the proceeds of large-scale drug trafficking.
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In an international operation involving six countries, Europol has announced that it took down underground bankers suspected of moving and laundering the proceeds of large-scale drug trafficking, seizing €27 million in cryptocurrencies.
Nine suspects were arrested as a result of multiyear investigations and previous operations, according to the announcement. Authorities from Albania, Bulgaria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and the US participated in the operation.
Investigators found that a criminal network based in Albania had been facilitating the transfer of large but unspecified sums of money through unspecified cryptocurrencies.
"Used not only by the Albanian criminal underworld but also by other criminal organizations and high-value targets, this is an innovative approach to money laundering," Europol stated.
According to the announcement, cryptocurrency experts and cyber specialists were also involved in the operation, offering their digital forensic expertise and remote investigative capabilities.
Europol reported collaborating with "a leading stablecoin issuer and a prominent global cryptocurrency asset provider" and noted that this cooperation "proved to be instrumental in achieving the operation’s successes." Major crypto exchange Binance confirmed its participation in the operation.
Police emphasized that underground banking and money laundering do not function merely as financial crimes in their own right but also serve as services for individuals involved in other criminal activities, such as drug trafficking, contract killings, and weapons trafficking, among others.
In its 2024 crypto crime report, blockchain analysis company Chainalysis stated that 2023 saw a significant drop in the value received by illicit cryptocurrency addresses, totaling $24.2 billion, or 0.34% of total on-chain transaction volume (down from 0.42% in 2022). However, this number may increase as more data becomes available.
"Some of this drop may be attributed to an overall decrease in crypto transaction volume, both legitimate and illicit. However, the drop in money laundering activity was steeper, at 29.5%, compared to the 14.9% drop in total transaction volume," the analysts noted.