The Algiers security services, represented by the judicial police of the Zeralda administrative district, dismantled an organized cross-border criminal group last week. The group consisted of seven individuals, including two foreign nationals, involved in smuggling currency abroad through the trading of virtual electronic currencies.
The case began when the services discovered methods used by a cross-border criminal network of foreign nationals operating within the country, specializing in smuggling currency abroad via virtual currency trading. Technical investigations were launched, leading to the identification of the network members and their locations.
In coordination with the competent prosecution, the suspects were arrested, and search warrants for their residences were executed. This resulted in the seizure of 48,953 digital currency units, equivalent to $48,953, held in electronic wallets.
Additionally, authorities seized nearly 350 million centimes, 5,605 Euros, and various other foreign currency amounts. Six laptops, four digital cards, two bank cards, two “Edahabia” cards, and seven mobile phones were also confiscated.
The suspects were presented before the competent prosecution on charges including belonging to an organized cross-border criminal group, violating legislation related to exchange and capital movements to and from abroad, money laundering, tax evasion, and lack of bank domiciliation. They also face charges related to the buying, selling, and trading of financial assets (virtual electronic currency), reporting a fictitious crime, and misleading the course of an investigation.
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