
Details from the Europol operation that has hit a criminal group during an international anti-money laundering operation.
According to Europol, 9 people have been arrested and 27 million euros in cryptocurrencies have been seized.
In the official statement, Europol emphasizes that investigative actions have also been carried out in Albania, with support from SPAK and BKH, and that this operation is a continuation of the " Gorgon " operation, the one of July and August, where the " Çopja " clan was hit in Elbasan.
In August, in Albania, the joint operation was codenamed "Gorgon" - monstrous figures according to Greek mythology, with Medusa as their most famous representative.
SPAK announced at the time that it had issued 33 arrest warrants against suspected members of a criminal organization, led according to investigators by two brothers, Franc and Hajdar Çopja.
SPAK announced that out of 33 arrest warrants, 13 were executed in Albania, while 2 people were arrested abroad.
One of the group's leaders, Franc Çopja , had previously been arrested in Dubai, from where he was extradited to Belgium.
The prosecution also seized 1 million euros in cash and 42 assets, including a building under construction and 4 bank accounts.
Controlled largely from the United Arab Emirates and operating throughout the EU and beyond, these criminal service providers cater to those who need to conceal the origin of large amounts of illicit proceeds.
One of the main findings of the investigation was that a member of an Albania-based criminal network, targeted during Operation GORGON, was facilitating the transfer of large sums of money via cryptocurrencies.
Used not only by the Albanian criminal world, but also by other criminal organizations and high-value targets, this is an innovative approach to money laundering.