Such news are actually bummers for the crypto community. No matter how clean we want to stay, no matter how diligently we pay our taxes, there will be always a group of criminals making use of cryptos to run their operations. These things are actually bringing down the reputation of cryptos big time, especially when it comes to the front page of a well known newspaper.
I feel real terribly sad when cryptos are linked to the terrorist attacks and crime gangs because all our good efforts instantly goes for a toss!
Topic: Spain – busted - Crypto ATMs used to launder narco money on a large scale - page 2. (Read 398 times)
May 09, 2019, 12:05:59 PM
May 09, 2019, 12:01:49 PM
Well thats a blown investment opportunity...
The owner of that ATM, my god! 100k daily volume?
I've looked into the Bitcoin ATM's and if Spain is similar to the States, then I'm sure those Fees aren't super cheap like a traditional atm.
Some ATM's charge 10-15% the transaction. On a low end, that owner was pulling in north of $10k daily just from fees!
Man, I need to get into that bitcoin ATM buisness and set a few up on the Mexico boarder
I bet my money on the operator knowing about the money laundering.
Let's be serious, who is laundering money at a 7% fee, tx fee, again BTC > fiat fee.
At this cost, it's better to set actually pay taxes
(yeah, probably its drug money but still...)
Na, watch some movies. Depending on how much your looking to Wash - these guys will pay upwards of 20-30%.
You have to figure that 100% of the money is Dirty and is basically worthless unless washed.
Getting in at 7% sounds like a killer deal for these Narco guys. No-wonder they were putting in millions
The owner of that ATM, my god! 100k daily volume?
I've looked into the Bitcoin ATM's and if Spain is similar to the States, then I'm sure those Fees aren't super cheap like a traditional atm.
Some ATM's charge 10-15% the transaction. On a low end, that owner was pulling in north of $10k daily just from fees!
Man, I need to get into that bitcoin ATM buisness and set a few up on the Mexico boarder
I bet my money on the operator knowing about the money laundering.
Let's be serious, who is laundering money at a 7% fee, tx fee, again BTC > fiat fee.
At this cost, it's better to set actually pay taxes
(yeah, probably its drug money but still...)Na, watch some movies. Depending on how much your looking to Wash - these guys will pay upwards of 20-30%.
You have to figure that 100% of the money is Dirty and is basically worthless unless washed.
Getting in at 7% sounds like a killer deal for these Narco guys. No-wonder they were putting in millions
May 09, 2019, 11:59:32 AM
These illegal transactions are ruining the name of Bitcoin in other countries. Sometimes, controversies are the reasons why most countries are afraid to adopt it as a currency.
Crypto ATM is what we are all aiming for but due to these crimes, I don't think it would be easy for it to be implemented.
Crypto ATM is what we are all aiming for but due to these crimes, I don't think it would be easy for it to be implemented.
Weren't there limit to each withdrawals to such ATMs?
Banks can always find ways to avoid all these laundering, even if they used fake IDs they can't just withdraw that much like 9M Euros in 3 months, that would be suspicious so if they already find it out the first month, it would have been avoided.
May 09, 2019, 11:53:20 AM
These illegal transactions are ruining the name of Bitcoin in other countries. Sometimes, controversies are the reasons why most countries are afraid to adopt it as a currency.
Crypto ATM is what we are all aiming for but due to these crimes, I don't think it would be easy for it to be implemented.
Crypto ATM is what we are all aiming for but due to these crimes, I don't think it would be easy for it to be implemented.
May 09, 2019, 11:50:48 AM
I bet my money on the operator knowing about the money laundering.
Let's be serious, who is laundering money at a 7% fee, tx fee, again BTC > fiat fee.
Let's be serious, who is laundering money at a 7% fee, tx fee, again BTC > fiat fee.
If one is already profiting a huge sum of amount from an unknown patron/benefactor, it does not matter what that entity does or where the funds come from as long as the operator is making moolah. I don't think the operator knows of the shady activity, but rather choose to not know about it.
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Puts bitcoin ATMs in quite a bad light. This might tighten already existing regulations and prerequisites before setting up a bitcoin ATM. It'll be harder to procure documents and get passed now knowing that such things can be done in a large scale, that's why I've been questioning for quite some time now if bitcoin ATMs are really *that* important in today's society with only a handful really involved in cryptocurrencies at this day and age.
May 09, 2019, 11:43:36 AM
I bet my money on the operator knowing about the money laundering.
Let's be serious, who is laundering money at a 7% fee, tx fee, again BTC > fiat fee.
That's also my guess. Probably not that the operator is in on the laundering itself, but the operator probably just chose to ignore what's happening due to the huge amounts of money being made.Let's be serious, who is laundering money at a 7% fee, tx fee, again BTC > fiat fee.
Normally, Spanish ATMs impose a regular limit of 1K Euros per operation, and by law do not require using an ID unless you are going to convert over 2,5K Euros. I figure (the sources I’ve seen and read did not specify) that they combines smaller TXs, but also some larger TXs via the usage of fake IDs; all in order to make their daily 100K Euro quota.
May 09, 2019, 11:29:15 AM
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Normally, Spanish ATMs impose a regular limit of 1K Euros per operation, and by law do not require using an ID unless you are going to convert over 2,5K Euros. I figure (the sources I’ve seen and read did not specify) that they combines smaller TXs, but also some larger TXs via the usage of fake IDs; all in order to make their daily 100K Euro quota.The IT shop reminded me of one of those phone parlours, where a lot of shady stuff goes on behind the scenes. I guess that at some point they will rise the requirements to install one of these machines, or lower the value that is transactionable in “b rated” type of commerce.
<…>
That’s introduces another debate: Is Russia considered Europe ? (total/partial) May 09, 2019, 11:23:45 AM
Damn. This kind of news would discourage other companies from developing Bitcoin ATMs in the future since the government will be looking at these ATMs even more closely due to these scams.
The ATM makers need to come up with better security measures to make sure these scams reduce in number in the future.
The ATM makers need to come up with better security measures to make sure these scams reduce in number in the future.
I'll still be developing my ATM software and back-end, doubt many on here will be interested in it though.
May 09, 2019, 11:17:23 AM
Damn. This kind of news would discourage other companies from developing Bitcoin ATMs in the future since the government will be looking at these ATMs even more closely due to these scams.
Good!
ATMs are the one thing I could live without, them and their fees.
Don't most bitcoin ATMs have cameras in them? They could probably check the timestamps of the transactions and look at the certain time frames in the video recording to determine who's behind the laundering.
Damn. That's definitely a lot of profit for the bitcoin ATM provider.
Damn. That's definitely a lot of profit for the bitcoin ATM provider.
I bet my money on the operator knowing about the money laundering.
Let's be serious, who is laundering money at a 7% fee, tx fee, again BTC > fiat fee.
At this cost, it's better to set actually pay taxes
(yeah, probably its drug money but still...)These two ATMs now have the arguable honour of being the first ATMs to be detained in Europe (so as to say …).
Unfortunately for them, they are late:
https://www.ccn.com/russian-police-seize-22-cryptocurrency-atms-under-central-bank-request
May 09, 2019, 10:58:09 AM
Don't most bitcoin ATMs have cameras in them? They could probably check the timestamps of the transactions and look at the certain time frames in the video recording to determine who's behind the laundering.
The estimate is of around 100K Euros being washed each day.
Damn. That's definitely a lot of profit for the bitcoin ATM provider. 
May 09, 2019, 10:45:03 AM
Damn. This kind of news would discourage other companies from developing Bitcoin ATMs in the future since the government will be looking at these ATMs even more closely due to these scams.
The ATM makers need to come up with better security measures to make sure these scams reduce in number in the future.
The ATM makers need to come up with better security measures to make sure these scams reduce in number in the future.
May 09, 2019, 10:28:35 AM
It was all over the news yesterday in Spain, with images of crypto-ATMs being confiscated by the police force, wheeled out of a store that sold IT equipment. The two ATMs that were decommissioned where the stars, leaving the eight detained members of the crime gang in as secondary actors in the show.
Europol worked alongside Spanish Guardia Civil for months to uncover the money laundering scheme, which seemed to be provided as a service to other criminal groups. The estimate is of around 100K Euros being washed each day. In went the cash into the ATM, switched to BTC, and back to FIAT in Colombia. The ATMs were as legal as you can get now, belonging to a sort of franquise. It appears they used a bunch of fake ID cards to perform the operations, making sure no single TX was over the radar limit.
The police also decommissioned a bunch of crypto wallets, whose TXs add up to an equivalent of 9M Euros in a three month period. Pretty over the top it they wanted to stay under the radar.
Not the ideal news for BTC ATMs. These two ATMs now have the arguable honour of being the first ATMs to be detained in Europe (so as to say …).
See Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f628fNzFkk
Europol worked alongside Spanish Guardia Civil for months to uncover the money laundering scheme, which seemed to be provided as a service to other criminal groups. The estimate is of around 100K Euros being washed each day. In went the cash into the ATM, switched to BTC, and back to FIAT in Colombia. The ATMs were as legal as you can get now, belonging to a sort of franquise. It appears they used a bunch of fake ID cards to perform the operations, making sure no single TX was over the radar limit.
The police also decommissioned a bunch of crypto wallets, whose TXs add up to an equivalent of 9M Euros in a three month period. Pretty over the top it they wanted to stay under the radar.
Not the ideal news for BTC ATMs. These two ATMs now have the arguable honour of being the first ATMs to be detained in Europe (so as to say …).
See Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f628fNzFkk
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