- Spanish police arrest 34 suspected Black Ax members in raids in Seville, Madrid, Malaga and Barcelona
- Black Ax, linked to the Neo-Black Movement of Africa, has ~30,000 members worldwide
- The group engages in cyber fraud, trafficking, armed robbery and recruits money mules in impoverished areas.
Spanish police arrested 34 people suspected of running Black Ax, 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 Office carried out raids in Seville, Madrid, Malaga and Barcelona, arresting dozens of Black Ax members. During the raid, they seized nearly $140,000 in bank accounts and $77,000 in cash.
Black Ax is apparently a large, highly structured and hierarchical group based in Nigeria, with members scattered across dozens of countries, while its operations span the globe.
Recruit money mules
The group defrauded to earn “billions of euros,” Europol explained, stating that it engages in all types of criminal activities: cyber fraud, drug trafficking, human trafficking and prostitution, kidnapping, armed robbery and fraudulent spiritual practices. Most of their operations appear to be small scale, but they add up quickly.
The core group arrested was allegedly recruiting money mules in Spain, mainly in impoverished areas. While the arrests were carried out primarily by Spanish agents, German law enforcement provided analytical and intelligence support and deployed two agents during the raid.
Europol says Black Ax is formally linked to Africa’s Neo-Black Movement 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 approximately 30,000 registered members and countless affiliated individuals, such as money mules and facilitators,” he said.
“The group imposes strict codes of conduct, violent initiations, and spiritual rituals and practices.”
No names were shared, and at this time, we don’t know exactly what cyber campaigns Black Ax carried out.
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