Case Studies

Op against fraudsters, money mules

by Mark Rowe

Police say they are going after fraudsters and their ‘money mules’ who have moved £4.1m of illicit cash through bank accounts in Greater Manchester in five months. Offenders launder cash acquired through fraud, deception and theft through the accounts of others in order to ensure there is no connection between them and the initial crime, which has often seen them con innocent people into handing over large amounts of cash.

A three-month operation – codenamed Ranger – which has seen 14 people arrested and 14 warrants executed so far. Money mules are recruited by fraudsters to take funds into their bank account for a fee before it is then transferred or withdrawn. They are the first people to handle the cash and play a key role in every fraud – without them the money could not be transferred from the victim and released to offenders as profit, or to fund further criminal activity.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Detective Inspector Martin Hopkinson said: “These fraudsters prey on the vulnerable twice – first through conning the money from trusting individuals and then again by filtering those ill-gotten gains through numerous bank accounts. Pursuing the bank account owners – the money mules themselves – allows us to streamline investigations, increase the amount of cases we can investigate and bring more offenders to justice.

“We believe that by reaching the account holders, we reduce the access points for fraudsters – creating a hostile environment in which to operate and stopping illegitimate cash getting into the hands of criminals. These underhand tactics will not be tolerated. The illegal funds finance more serious and violent crime which can destroy communities.

“We urge people who are approached to consider their actions before taking part in such a deal. There’s no such thing as easy money, and a criminal record is the only thing you’ll gain from it.”

Between October 2015 and February 2016, GMP recorded 1,475 fraud crimes, of which 490 (33%) were solely in relation to money mules, amounting to £4.1million of fraudulently obtained funds. During 2014/15 GMP recorded over 4,600 fraud related crimes and it is anticipated that this figure will rise to over 5,500 during the year 2015-16. A typical fraud investigation can take 12 to 15 months, police add.

From Europol: more about money muling.

Last month meanwhile law enforcement agencies and judicial bodies from Belgium, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, the UK, Romania, Spain and Portugal – with further support from Moldova and other countries – joined in the first coordinated European action against money muling. The operation was also supported by Europol, Eurojust and the European Banking Federation (EBF). During the week, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) and the Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT), together with Eurojust and EBF, provided operational and analytical support to the involved partners. Nearly 700 money mules were identified across Europe and 81 individuals were arrested after 198 suspects were interviewed by law enforcement agencies. With the support of over 70 banks, significant financial losses were discovered and prevented, and over 900 victims of this crime were identified, the European policing agency reported.

Rob Wainwright, Europol’s Director said: “The European Money Mule Action is recognition on all sides that public-private partnerships based on mutual trust and effective reporting mechanisms are the way forward to combat financial crime. This international operation is ambitious: beyond showing the excellent cooperation between law enforcement, judicial and the banking partners, it also emphasises that prevention is an essential part of our work. These individuals recruited as money mules are duped by criminals to launder funds with the promise of easy money. Uncovering the depth of these schemes and informing the public about how these criminals operate are also our responsibility to prevent the criminals from taking advantage of unsuspecting people.”

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