PRESS RELEASE
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Law enforcement agencies from 26 countries, in collaboration with Europol, Eurojust, INTERPOL and several private industry partners, have once again joined forces to combat a key facilitator of money laundering: money mules and their recruiters. In June, October and November 2023, several operational phases identified 10759 money mules and 474 recruiters, leading to the arrest of 1013 individuals worldwide.
The ninth edition of the European Money Mule Action (EMMA 9), which was funded by EMPACT (https://www.europol.europa.eu/crime-areas-and-statistics/empact) and led by the Netherlands, was the continuation of an established international law enforcement effort. As in previous years, it involved operations around the globe, such as in Colombia, Singapore and Australia.
Results of the operation include:
- 10759 money mules identified
- 474 recruiters/herders identified
- 1013 individuals arrested
- 10736 fraudulent transactions reported
- 4659 investigations initiated
- 2822 banks and financial institutions supported the action
- EUR 100 million losses reported
- EUR 32 million in losses prevented
EMMA is the most extensive international operation of its kind, grounded in the principle that information sharing between the public and private sectors is essential in combating today’s sophisticated crimes. The European Banking Federation (EBF) has been the first industry partner to EMMA since its inception. In this year’s endeavour, with ongoing coordination of the EBF, approximately 2822 banks and financial institutions collaborated with law enforcement. This joint effort also involved online money transfer services, cryptocurrency exchanges, online travel providers and ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) companies, as well as multinational computer technology corporations.