Police identified 170 money mules and illegal cryptocurrency exchangers in one of the telephone fraud cases 0 6

Currently, the police are investigating a criminal process that combines 35 criminal cases of fraud committed in 2023 and 2024.

During the pre-trial investigation, it was established that several residents of Latvia reported to the police from September 2023 to September 2024 about receiving fraudulent phone calls from individuals claiming to be police officers and bank employees.

The scammers, calling residents, informed them that loans were allegedly issued in their name or that suspicious financial transactions were occurring, and offered to help "expose the fraudsters." To do this, the victims were asked to install the remote access program AnyDesk on their computer or mobile phone, as well as to log into their online banking.

In this way, the scammers attempted to gain access to the victims' banking data and obtain confirmation of transactions made by the criminals. The calls were widespread, with the criminals posing as employees of the State Police and banks.

Based on these facts, several criminal processes were initiated, which were subsequently combined into one.

In total, more than 170 so-called money mules were identified during the investigation — some of them have been recognized as suspects, some have already been referred for prosecution, and some have already been convicted. Thirteen operators of the fraudulent call center, who made the calls and stole about 2 million euros from the residents of Latvia, have also been identified and detained.

Currently, within the framework of the criminal process, an arrest has been made on funds amounting to 829,650 euros.

The investigation also revealed that since 2023, an international organized crime group has been operating in Latvia, involved in the legalization of criminally obtained funds in European Union countries. The group's activities were related to telephone fraud against EU citizens, including residents of Latvia. The group members also sought individuals willing to act as so-called money mules.

In cooperation with law enforcement agencies in Estonia, in 2024, the leader of this organized crime group was detained in Germany, who was subsequently convicted in Estonia.

In Latvia, three members of this group have been detained, each sentenced to three years in prison. Sufficient evidence has also been gathered against an illegal cryptocurrency exchanger, who has been sentenced to more than six years in prison. Two more members fled to Ukraine after the arrests of other group members in the EU.

Meanwhile, on March 12 of this year, the State Police, in cooperation with law enforcement agencies in Ukraine, Eurojust, and the Prosecutor's Office of Latvia, detained two members of this organized crime group who had fled to Ukraine in Ivano-Frankivsk. These individuals are recognized as suspects in the legalization of criminally obtained funds as part of an organized group. During the conducted procedural actions, two laptops and four mobile phones were seized, as well as other evidence relevant to the investigation.

The investigation into the criminal case continues.