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PHOTO: Pixabay
The Bulgarians involved in the hackers’ money laundering scheme were hired by the criminal group to open bank accounts in the EU, traveling to different countries. They were unemployed, with experience in construction activities and were hired through their acquaintances, BNT reports.
Officials from the Department of Cybercrime of the General Directorate for the Fight against Organized Crime, together with their colleagues from sixteen countries around the world, neutralized the international organized criminal group QQAAZZ. It has been working for 4-5 years.
“They were promised to travel to repair the property, in fact when they arrived in the UK for example they were told that given their job they had to sign documents.
They did not speak English, they were taken by other members of the group to office buildings, they signed some documents, they stayed for several weeks and told them that they would not repair and they were sent back to Bulgaria, “explained Vladimir Dimitrov, head of the group. Department of Cybercrime of the General Directorate for the Fight against Organized Crime.
Their remuneration was relatively low: they received up to 2,000 BGN or EUR, but the core of their group covered all travel and accommodation expenses in the respective country.
On the contrary, the core of the group charged a significant commission for the selection of money, around 40-50% of the amount. Bulgarian mules were assigned to buy a house on the territory of the Varna district and there the group participants installed devices for digging cryptocurrencies. Management equipment, computers and telephones were seized.
The victims of the hackers who placed the orders were mostly companies from the US and the EU, including government institutions, banks and schools.
The unprecedented police operation to disband the group lasted several months, led by the Portuguese police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, in coordination with Europol.
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