Money Launderers and Associated Cash-Mules from Russia Sent Behind Bars

A group of five Russia-based cash-mules have got prison for laundering nearly 1m pounds to aid illicit revenue to other cyber-criminals. The five cash-mules are actually criminals hired to steal money by extracting it from ATMs followed with sending it over to those other cyber-criminals' account, after retaining a portion for themselves.

According to UK cops, two leaders of the group arrested -30-yr-old Aslan Abazov and 29-yr-old Aslan Gergov have been given 7-and-half years, and 7-yrs and 3 months jail, respectively.

UK cops have further arrested 3 cash-mules and ordered them for serving jail. These three are 26-yr-old Sergo Sahin to serve 18 weeks of jail; 48-yr-old Andrejs Ignatjevs to serve 5 months; and 33-yr-old Kazbek Varitlov to serve 7 years and 6 months.

The cash mules, on 9th November 2014, hijacked 5 commercial bank accounts from where they moved nearly 1m pounds to bank accounts that workers of Abazov and Gergov opened.

The money was thereafter illegally transferred via 166 mule A/Cs prior to getting withdrawn, generally in the range of EUR2,000-EUR4,000 each time. Newhamrecorder.co.uk posted this, July 12, 2016.

The transactions that the gang undertook for making legal the stolen money were Sahin purchasing one bracelet in white gold priced 3,400 pounds and one love necklace in diamond priced 2,970 pounds, both ornaments from Cartier. The ornaments understood to be sent to Russia were actually purchased in Marcin Rybnik's name although Sahin was the buyer.

Sahin, Abazov along with Gergov were seen on CCTV when they were visiting one west London shop and buying Euros totaling 2,504 pounds through one mule account.

In a hierarchical system of the network, the mules are placed lower-end while the gang leaders Gergov and Abazov stay on the top. The gang leaders had liaised with mules that initially compromised the commercial accounts.

Operation Falcon conductor of Met namely Detective Inspector Jason Tunn stated that the losses which victims of the money-laundering campaign suffered in UK were considerable. Also, clues presented in court revealed that revenue coming to the gang was getting utilized in 'building' constructions inside Russia as an attempt towards laundering the criminal earnings.

» SPAMfighter News - 7/19/2016