Hungary busts Israeli-led money-laundering ring

Hungarian police announced Monday that they had busted an international money-laundering ring based in Hungary that was led by an Israeli man and defrauded people in dozens of countries through online investment scams.

According to police spokesman Peter Farkas, around 44 million euros ($47 million) were transferred from 94 companies set up by the gang.

The gang was led by a 48-year-old Israeli man living in Hungary, one of five suspects arrested during coordinated raids on May 9 across Hungary.

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The fraud schemes were typically online and related to so-called “account-switching” and cryptocurrency investments, said Farkas, speaking at a press conference where seized phones, laptops and some 250 SIM cards were on display.

Cars and jewelry were also seized.

“Investments with good returns were promised to people who then transferred monies to over 400 fraudulent bank accounts,” he said.

According to Farkas, the money was “quickly transferred onward,” primarily to countries east of Hungary.

He added that police have recovered approximately 1.8 million euros out of the 44 million euros.