The defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to five years, depending on the role of each defendant in the organized group. For 11 members of the group, the sentences were given conditionally and with a probationary period.
Let us recall in this connection: “money mules” are people through whom criminal groups launder money. For example, having received a transfer to his account, the “mule” withdraws them in cash and, leaving himself a reward, gives it to the customer.
How the scheme worked
As previously reported by the prosecutor’s office, a total of 14 defendants were involved in the case, one of whom turned out to be a citizen of Germany, and all of his accomplices were citizens of Latvia. It should be noted that in total the group of “mules” included more than 90 people. (A large-scale investigation into this criminal process was carried out jointly with Eurojust).
Members of the group legalized in Latvia the funds criminally obtained abroad in the course of fraud and other crimes.
The money stolen abroad was credited to the bank accounts of Latvian residents in the form of ZIB payments, after which the funds were withdrawn in cash, converted into cryptocurrency and credited to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by the organizers of the organized group.
In this regard, the prosecutor’s office notes: when investigating such cases, often the “mule” may not even know that the money was obtained by criminal means. However, this does not exempt from liability.
45,000 euros have already been recovered from the accused
The plea agreement and punishment was concluded with those defendants who exercised the right to cooperation provided for by the Criminal Procedure Law. They fully admitted their guilt and before the conclusion of the agreement, they fully or partially returned to the state budget the funds obtained by criminal means, as well as received by them as a reward for money laundering.
In total, before the conclusion of the agreement, almost 45,000 euros were recovered from the defendants, and an agreement was reached on the voluntary return to the state treasury of the rest of the criminally acquired funds.
With respect to another accused, the case was sent to the court for economic cases for consideration in the general manner. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing for the other defendant.