Fourteen people have been arrested in the UK who are suspected of their involvement in money laundering that netted them £11m generated by major malware scams.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said that the proceeds were probably grabbed by using the notorious Dridex and Dyre malware. The victims received spear-phishing emails with attachments that downloaded the malware which was used to steal banking info that led to the theft of their accounts. The accounts were drained and transferred to the criminals accounts.

The suspects are thought to have set up hundreds of bank accounts into which the proceeds were deposited. Those arrested included 14 men and one woman ages between 23 and 52. Most were nabbed in London.

Local law enforcement was aided by representatives from Moldovan and Romanian authorities. Seized were electronic items such as computers and mobile phones, cash and false identity documents.

Mike Hulett, head of operations at the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU), said: “Cyber crime is an increasing threat in the UK and internationally, which the NCA is determined to combat at every level. The malware used in this case hits small and medium sized businesses particularly hard.”

“Those responsible for writing, developing and deploying malware code also rely heavily on other organized criminals, like money launderers, and their fraudulent proceeds can then be used to fund other criminality.

“The NCA has had tremendous support from colleagues across law enforcement and the banking industry to close down this money laundering network. Together we have made a hole in the system which will cause significant disruption to other organized criminals.”

Source: V3