17 Arrested as Europol Takes Down Mafia-Linked Crypto Laundering Scheme

They called it the “mafia crypto-bank.” Europol’s January 2025 sting operation shut down one of the largest international crypto-laundering schemes to date. Seventeen people were arrested—15 in Spain, one in Austria, one in Belgium.

The group is believed to have laundered over €21 million (roughly $23.5 million), using digital assets to process dirty money for criminal networks, mostly linked to clients from China and Arabic-speaking nations.

The operation was directed by a judicial authority in Almería, Spain, and was executed with the operational and logistical assistance of Europol. Over 250 law enforcement agents from Spain, Austria, and Belgium took part.

Europol covered the costs of deploying three Spanish investigators internationally and positioned its own field experts in each participating country, ensuring seamless cross-border operational support.

Check this out: The Number of Violent Crypto Crimes Is Rising

The Inner Workings of a Global Laundering Scheme

The group ran a parallel financial structure, mirroring traditional banking—but outside any regulatory framework. Their core laundering channels included:

• Informal cross-border payments via the hawala method (trust-based transfers with no central oversight),
• Crypto-to-cash conversion,
• Courier-based transfers of high-value sums.

Services were marketed via social platforms, allowing the organization to attract a broad international clientele. The operation maintained two key client segments:

1. Criminal entities operating in Arabic-speaking regions,
2. Groups affiliated with Chinese organized crime.

Funds primarily stemmed from drug trafficking and migrant smuggling activities.

Over €21 million—sourced from drugs and human exploitation—flowed through this underground network. When law enforcement struck, they confiscated more than €4.5 million. The seized assets included €183,000 in crypto, €421,000 spread across 77 frozen bank accounts, and €206,000 in physical cash.

Ten properties. Eighteen cars. Four guns, each with ammunition. And a trail of luxury—designer timepieces, jewels, cigars, and high-end phones. The total haul included €2.5 million in real estate and €207,000 in vehicles. It paints a clear picture: this was no street-level gang. This was a well-oiled, highly organized machine.

Of interest: eXch Caught in Crypto Crime Allegations—Bybit Hack Connection?

Crypto as a Tool for Money Laundering

The latest Europol investigation casts a spotlight on how deeply embedded has crypto become in cross-border criminal networks. Chainalysis reports that in 2024 alone, illicit activity involving digital assets surged to $51.3 billion—an 11.3% rise from 2023.

In March, Europol sounded the alarm in its SOCTA report. Organized crime is getting smarter—turning to AI and crypto to scale faster and stay invisible. The “mafia crypto-bank” case builds directly on migrant smuggling investigations and shows just how easily digital assets plug into underground finance. This is how international enforcement efforts get outpaced—one blockchain transaction at a time.