- Spanish police arrest 34 suspected Black Ax members in raids across Seville, Madrid, Malaga and Barcelona
- Black Axe, linked to the Neo-Black Movement of Africa, has ~30,000 members worldwide
- The group engages in cyber fraud, human trafficking, armed robbery and recruits money mules in impoverished areas
Spanish police have arrested 34 people suspected of running Black Axe, a malicious organization involved in cyber fraud as part of a network of criminal activities.
A press release from Europol noted that the Spanish National Police and the Bavarian State Criminal Police carried out raids in Seville, Madrid, Malaga and Barcelona and arrested dozens of members of Black Axe. During the raid, they seized nearly $140,000 in bank accounts and $77,000 in cash.
Black Ax is apparently a large, highly structured, hierarchical group headquartered in Nigeria, with members spread across dozens of countries while their activities span the globe.
Recruiting Money Mules
The group defrauded itself of “billions of euros”, Europol explained, saying it engages in all kinds of criminal activity: cyber-enabled fraud, drug trafficking, human trafficking and prostitution, kidnapping, armed robbery and fraudulent spiritual practices. The majority of their operations appear to be small, but are increasing rapidly.
The core group arrested were allegedly engaged in recruiting mules in Spain – mostly in poor areas. While the arrests were mainly carried out by Spanish operatives, German law enforcement provided analytical support and intelligence and deployed two officers during the raid.
Europol says Black Ax is formally linked to the Neo-Black Movement of Africa and is a “highly structured, hierarchical group with a global presence.”
“It divides its territory into approximately 60 zones in Nigeria and 35 abroad with about 200 members per zone. In total, the organization has about 30,000 registered members and countless associated individuals such as money mules and facilitators,” it said.
“The group enforces strict codes of conduct, violent and ritualistic initiations and spiritual practices.”
No names were shared and at this time we do not know exactly what cyber campaigns Black Ax conducted.
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