Law enforcement authorities in Spain and Ukraine have broken up a criminal network that exploited Ukrainian women displaced by the war to run an online gambling operation that laundered nearly €4.75 million in illegal profits.
According to investigators, the group emerged during the war in Ukraine and specifically targeted young women from regions experiencing constant attacks.
Recruitment cells tied to the organisation financed their travel to Spain, where the victims were kept under strict control by members of the network.
After arriving in Spain, the women were taken to official reception centres where they applied for temporary protection status.
The suspects then instructed them to open bank accounts and obtain credit cards, which were immediately taken over and controlled by the criminals.
“According to Spanish investigators, the victims were in extremely vulnerable situations in areas heavily impacted by the war in Ukraine and were completely under the control of the suspects,” Europol said on Thursday.
“Members of the criminal network sent the women to Spain, accompanied them to open bank accounts and returned them to Ukraine shortly afterwards.”
These bank accounts were later used to support a sophisticated automated fraud scheme.
The organisation deployed bot software capable of placing thousands of simultaneous low-odds bets on online gambling platforms, using stolen identities belonging to thousands of individuals across 17 different nationalities.
Investigators say the criminals intentionally focused on low-odds wagers to reduce the risk of losses while generating consistent profits that appeared legitimate, allowing them to launder the proceeds.
“The network had developed a fraud system to scam online gaming platforms through multiple accounts with identities stolen from more than 5,000 citizens of 17 different nationalities,” the Spanish National Police added.
“The organisation recruited highly vulnerable women in areas hit hard by the war in Ukraine and opened bank accounts in their names that they used on gaming platforms to move illicit profits, estimated at 4,750,000 euros.”
The investigation, carried out jointly by Spanish and Ukrainian authorities, began in October 2023.
As part of the operation, Spanish police arrested 12 suspects and conducted nine searches in Alicante and Valencia.
Authorities also carried out raids at eight locations in Ukraine.
During the searches, investigators seized dozens of mobile phones, 20 computers, 22 betting bots, four high-end vehicles, and around 500 SIM cards.
They also froze ten properties valued at more than €2 million and blocked bank accounts across 11 countries containing over €470,000.