The Lower Silesian National Revenue Administration and the Łódź Branch of the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime, under the supervision of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Łódź, dismantled an international criminal group involved in laundering extorted money. – The illegally obtained funds were transferred to foreign bank accounts and invested in cryptocurrencies – explains Agnieszka Rzeźnicka-Gniadek, spokesperson for the Lower Silesian KAS. – Thirteen people, including citizens of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus, were detained in the case.
Investigators established that the group’s members had created an organized infrastructure for laundering money obtained through financial fraud, including an extensive network of cryptocurrency exchange offices throughout Poland and the European Union.
Spokesperson:
The criminals also created a fake “call center.” The people employed there contacted selected individuals by telephone, impersonating bank employees. During the calls, the perpetrators informed victims about an alleged attack on their bank accounts. They persuaded them to immediately transfer money to so-called technical accounts in order to ostensibly “secure the funds.” In reality, the money went to accounts controlled by the perpetrators.
What happened to the money?
Investigators’ findings show that money obtained through crimes was introduced into legal circulation. Bank accounts opened in the names of so-called nominees and business entities that, under the guise of conducting legitimate activities, participated in the money-laundering scheme were used for this purpose. After being legalized, the funds were transferred to foreign bank accounts or invested in cryptocurrencies.
In which regions did the fraudsters operate?
The coordinated actions of KAS, CBZC and the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Łódź covered the following voivodeships: Lower Silesian, Greater Poland, Masovian, Lesser Poland, Silesian and Pomeranian. A total of 13 people were detained in the operation.
What happened to those detained?
The court ordered pre-trial detention for 3 months for 10 suspects. The suspects were charged with participation in an organized criminal group and committing numerous frauds and extortions of money. They face up to 15 years in prison for the alleged offenses.
Officers discovered and secured property worth a total of PLN 2.6 million that came directly from criminal activity.