This alleged criminal group had been operating since at least 2014, causing approximately 3.5 million euros in losses
Taken from Listín Diario
The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) reported the dismantling of an alleged network of real estate fraudsters who sent their illicit profits to the Dominican Republic.
This alleged criminal group, according to Europol, had been operating since at least 2014, causing some 3.5 million euros (around RD$227 million) in economic damages.
“The Budapest Metropolitan Police, with the support of Europol, dismantled an organized criminal group involved in fraud and money laundering,” read part of the statement from the aforementioned entity.
The same document detailed that the person identified as the leader of this group, who was not identified, was arrested in the Dominican Republic last June, where he was hiding using false identity documents.
Following his arrest, authorities froze his bank accounts and confiscated several of his electronic assets, and he was finally extradited to Hungary on Thursday, September 28th of this year.
This operation, in addition to the Budapest Police and Europol, had the support of the Dominican judicial and police authorities, as well as the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
Modus operandi
According to the aforementioned report, this alleged criminal organization deceived several people using fake advertisements for a hundred real estate properties, even though none of its members owned the properties used and the real owners had no links to this network.
According to Europol, the suspects created fake property listings to scam victims into sending them deposit and rent money
They also claimed that they used the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to install remote control software on the computers of the people they scammed.
They also claimed that they created a money laundering system based on recruiting people and turning them into a kind of "money mule".
“To launder the proceeds, the suspects recruited Hungarian citizens for various jobs, enticing them to become money mules for a trial period,” Europol said.
Similarly, the institution stated that those interested in this “job” carried out multiple tasks, such as opening bank accounts, receiving and transferring money, conducting cryptocurrency transactions, and participating in the fake sale or rental of real estate, with the Dominican Republic being the final destination of the illicit profits.
Findings
In their report, authorities indicated that they conducted 116 searches and identified 477 victims and 130 suspects.
