MIA: 20 Members of QQAAZZ Criminal Network Arrested in Cooperation with Europol
As a result of the international police cooperation coordinated by Europol, an unprecedented international police operation – 2BaGoldMule was held, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reported.
"As a result of the international police cooperation coordinated by Europol, an unprecedented international police operation - 2BaGoldMule was held. The operation involved law enforcement agencies from 16 states, as a result of which 20 members of the criminal network QQAAZZ were arrested, for attempting to launder tens of millions of EUs under the orders of the world's leading cybercriminals.
"The operation was preceded by a complex investigation held by the police of Portugal, the United States and Spain, as well as the law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom, Georgia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Australia, Sweden, Austria and Belgium under the coordination of Europol.
"The Center for International Cooperation in the Law Enforcement Sphere and Cybercrime Division under the Main Division for Combating Organized Crime of the Central Criminal Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were actively involved in the course of the mentioned investigation.
"It was established that QQAAZZ network, whose members were from Latvia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania and Belgium, had opened hundreds of corporate and personal bank accounts around the world, where money illegally appropriated from the accounts of victims was transferred by cybercriminals. The mentioned funds were then transferred to QQAAZZ-controlled accounts and often converted into cryptocurrencies.
"International police cooperation is one of the priority directions for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and actively continues to provide operational support to Europol, Interpol and various countries within the frames of the existing bilateral cooperation agreements," the Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement.