Amsterdam: Spanish police have arrested the suspected leader of a gang of cyber criminals who stole up 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) from banks by altering account balances and instructing automatic teller machines to issue cash, Europol said on Monday.
The person suspected of being behind malware attacks known as "Carbanak" and "Cobalt" was arrested in Alicante, a port city on the south east coast of Spain, after cooperation between police forces in the United States, Asia and Europe, Europol said.
The Interior Ministry said 'Denis K.', who had directed the criminal organisation from Spain since 2013, was arrested with three members of his organisation, who originally came from Russia and Ukraine, it said.
Europol said the group had operated since 2013, with members in 40 countries, carrying out attacks on 100 financial institutions. They targeted bank employees with emails infecting their computers and then using them as a base to gain control of bank network and servers.
Europol, said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Romanian, Belarussian and Taiwanese authorities, and private cyber security companies were assisting in the case.
ORGANIZATION USED 'MULES' TO EXTRACT MONEY
The organisation needed the support of other criminal groups to coordinate the work of the 'mules' they used to extract money from cash points that they attacked, it said. Until 2015 they used the Russian mafia for this, and after 2016 the Moldovan mafia.
Denis K used financial platforms in Gibraltar and the United Kingdom to load prepaid cards with bitcoin and spend them in Spain on cars, homes, and other goods.
The person suspected of being behind malware attacks known as "Carbanak" and "Cobalt" was arrested in Alicante, a port city on the south east coast of Spain, after cooperation between police forces in the United States, Asia and Europe, Europol said.
The Interior Ministry said 'Denis K.', who had directed the criminal organisation from Spain since 2013, was arrested with three members of his organisation, who originally came from Russia and Ukraine, it said.
Europol said the group had operated since 2013, with members in 40 countries, carrying out attacks on 100 financial institutions. They targeted bank employees with emails infecting their computers and then using them as a base to gain control of bank network and servers.
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Europol, said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Romanian, Belarussian and Taiwanese authorities, and private cyber security companies were assisting in the case.
ORGANIZATION USED 'MULES' TO EXTRACT MONEY
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The organisation needed the support of other criminal groups to coordinate the work of the 'mules' they used to extract money from cash points that they attacked, it said. Until 2015 they used the Russian mafia for this, and after 2016 the Moldovan mafia.
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Denis K used financial platforms in Gibraltar and the United Kingdom to load prepaid cards with bitcoin and spend them in Spain on cars, homes, and other goods.
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© Thomson Reuters 2018
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