Police Break Up International Money-Laundering Ring Behind 337 Million Zloty in Cybercrime Proceeds
Polish authorities have dismantled an international group that laundered 337 million zloty from online fraud, with nine suspects charged. The gang used unusual methods to identify one another, including photographs of torn banknotes and secret codes.
Charges and arrests
The Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime, the Polish unit known as Centralne Biuro Zwalczania Cyberprzestępczości, said the operation ended the activity of an international criminal group that washed 337 million zloty derived from cyber fraud (Międzynarodowa grupa przestępcza rozbita. Prali pieniądze na ogromną skalę – Onet). Nine people have been charged in the case, according to the Polish Press Agency, which cited Prosecutor Krzysztof Kopania, spokesman for the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Łódź. The investigation is run by that office.
Where the suspects were detained
The prosecutor's office reported that nine people were detained in Łódź, Warsaw and the Lesser Poland region. The detained men and women are aged between 26 and 53 and are alleged to belong to a group that specialised in laundering money obtained through online scams.
How the group identified its members
Investigators said the group used non-standard ways of recognising its own participants. Members reportedly relied on photographs of torn banknotes and on secret codes to confirm that they were dealing with the right people. The prosecutor's office described these methods as a way to keep the network's internal contacts hidden from outsiders.
Scale of the operation
The sum involved, 337 million zloty, refers to proceeds from fraud committed online. The figure represents the value of money laundered by the group, not confirmed losses of individual victims. Authorities did not disclose in the material how many victims were affected.
Sources
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- #Arrests