7th European Money Mule Action Concluded
On 1 December 2021, Europol published its conclusions on the seventh European Money Mule Action, Operation EMMA 7. This international action was coordinated by Europol and involved 27 countries, Eurojust, INTERPOL, the European Banking Federation (EBF), and the FinTech FinCrime Exchange. Around 400 banks and financial institutions supported the action. It targeted the laundering of criminal profits through money mule networks and represented a concerted effort against money laundering in Europe, Asia, North America, Columbia, and Australia. EMMA provided a way for all these actors to cooperate and share intelligence, with the aim of identifying possible money mules. As a result, 7000 fraudulent transactions were reported, 18,351 money mules and 324 recruiters/herders identified, 1803 individuals arrested, and a total loss estimated at nearly €70 million prevented. Money mules are persons who, often unwittingly, transfer illegally obtained money between different accounts on behalf of others. They are regularly tricked by criminal organisations that promise easy money.