Spain – busted - Crypto ATMs used to launder narco money on a large scale

[DdmrDdmr]

<...>What do they sell in that shop to have that much customer traffic, marijuana?   <...>

IT related stuff. Looking at the video, the store name indicates that it is (also) a Consulting and Financial Services corporation. Funny thing is that, looking at their website, you can download from it the "Guía Anti-Money Laundering” … I guess they forgot the "anti" part … the irony …

[LeGaulois]

Imagine the case where a drug dealer converts the dirty money to potatoes chips and send to Colombia. Will the potatoes chips reputation damaged? No. Replace it with gold, will it have a damaged reputation? No.

Why when it's about Bitcoin the mass population feels the need to label it as criminal paradise currency.

Well, because it is. I can sell heroin, shove 100k into Bitcoin ATM's and send it anywhere instantly. Can't do that with gold, or anything else really.

You can sell heroin, inject the money to buy gold (no gold ATM yeah but it's not the point) not different. So?
What people do with Bitcoin is something else. Otherwise, we would need to agree to say that the dollar is also a criminal paradise currency.
Before Bitcoin was alive what were they using do you think? Gold, big banknotes

[lukew]

Imagine the case where a drug dealer converts the dirty money to potatoes chips and send to Colombia. Will the potatoes chips reputation damaged? No. Replace it with gold, will it have a damaged reputation? No.

Why when it's about Bitcoin the mass population feels the need to label it as criminal paradise currency.

Well, because it is. I can sell heroin, shove 100k into Bitcoin ATM's and send it anywhere instantly. Can't do that with gold, or anything else really.

You can sell heroin, inject the money to buy gold (no gold ATM yeah but it's not the point) not different. So?
What people do with Bitcoin is something else. Otherwise, we would need to agree to say that the dollar is also a criminal paradise currency.
Before Bitcoin was alive what were they using do you think? Gold, big banknotes

You can't buy gold at a machine and be untracable, then send the gold anywhere in the world instantly.

[1Referee]

Why when it's about Bitcoin the mass population feels the need to label it as criminal paradise currency.

Bitcoin is disruptive. Bitcoin allows people to bypass whatever it is that governments and banks subjects them to, and this might be a scary thought for those who always relied on governments and banks. Governments are our friends, right? And banks do everything to protect our money, right?

If you also add the anti Bitcoin propaganda, specifically meant to brainwash the average person, it's clear why people still see it as a criminal currency. Propaganda is a powerful tool that governments very frequently use to manipulate their own people. Don't underestimate this.

It's going to be a long process before people really figure out who the bad actors are.

[LeGaulois]

Imagine the case where a drug dealer converts the dirty money to potatoes chips and send to Colombia. Will the potatoes chips reputation damaged? No. Replace it with gold, will it have a damaged reputation? No.

Why when it's about Bitcoin the mass population feels the need to label it as criminal paradise currency.

Well, because it is. I can sell heroin, shove 100k into Bitcoin ATM's and send it anywhere instantly. Can't do that with gold, or anything else really.

You can sell heroin, inject the money to buy gold (no gold ATM yeah but it's not the point) not different. So?
What people do with Bitcoin is something else. Otherwise, we would need to agree to say that the dollar is also a criminal paradise currency.
Before Bitcoin was alive what were they using do you think? Gold, big banknotes

You can't buy gold at a machine and be untracable, then send the gold anywhere in the world instantly.

Right that's why I wrote "no gold ATM yeah but it's not the point"
It's even easier to buy gold and to be untraceable compared to Bitcoin. You can't transfer instantly yes but it's not a problem for them, they are not looking for a Paypal alternative

[pixie85]

That’s introduces another debate: Is Russia considered Europe ? (total/partial)

Google tells me they are in Europe, the books say the same.....my heart tells me they are no far away enough , but that's another story.

I always thought they are in both. Most of Russia is in Asia but their Capital is in Europe so there's no straight answer to that. The best one would be they are located on the Eurasian continent and and lie partially in Asia and Europe. It's officially called a transcontinental country.

I see nothing bad for Bitcoin in this news. They were using a number of things to launder money like credit cards, fake IDs and sim cards. They also had bank accounts. Let's not blame Bitcoin for what people are doing with it.

[BitHodler]

It's even easier to buy gold and to be untraceable compared to Bitcoin. You can't transfer instantly yes but it's not a problem for them, they are not looking for a Paypal alternative

Gold and cash are just as decentralized as Bitcoin, but offer way more privacy because there is no way you can track transactions conducted by criminals who exchange these assets somewhere outside in a parking lot.

I can buy gold without an ID from local jewelry or pawn stores (of course not an infinite amount), while I can't buy Bitcoin as easily. The only way to buy Bitcoin locally is to search for sellers around you that are trusted enough.

People credit Bitcoin too much for its usefulness and privacy that it offers to criminals, while Bitcoin in reality is a horrible tool for that. If people understood how Bitcoin worked they would know that as well.

[LeGaulois]

It's even easier to buy gold and to be untraceable compared to Bitcoin. You can't transfer instantly yes but it's not a problem for them, they are not looking for a Paypal alternative

Gold and cash are just as decentralized as Bitcoin, but offer way more privacy because there is no way you can track transactions conducted by criminals who exchange these assets somewhere outside in a parking lot.

I can buy gold without an ID from local jewelry or pawn stores (of course not an infinite amount), while I can't buy Bitcoin as easily. The only way to buy Bitcoin locally is to search for sellers around you that are trusted enough.

People credit Bitcoin too much for its usefulness and privacy that it offers to criminals, while Bitcoin in reality is a horrible tool for that. If people understood how Bitcoin worked they would know that as well.

That was exactly my point. But since the media prefer to publish articles on this kind of subject, people only remember that. On top of that, how many researches have been published to finally say that the percentage of BTC transactions related to illegal activities is very low?

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's World Drug Report 2005 estimates the size of the global illicit drug market at US$321.6 billion in 2003 alone. With a world GDP of US$36 trillion in the same year

just for the drug industry

In December 2009 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa claimed
illegal drug money saved the banking industry from collapse.<==

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade

[CryptoBry]

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.

Interesting news, indeed! Imagine they are detaining the ATM machines as if criminals in their own rights. Okay, am sure the machines are processed as big evidence of the mayhem and they also contained necessary information that can be used in filing cases against the operators of the money laundering operation. This can create a black eye against Bitcoin temporarily but this should be serving as a reminder to all of us not to use this new platform and opportunity for illegal purposes.

[Sithara007]

The authorities are effectively saying that in case the drug dealers want to launder their dirty money, then they should do that through the big banks (just like the HSBC, which helped the Mexican drug mafias to deal with their revenues). Now I don't have any stats to support my claim, but I think that the turnover at these ATMs is too small to be used by drug kingpins. Some of the low ranking street dealers may be making use of these facilities to launder their stuff.

[AGD]

It's even easier to buy gold and to be untraceable compared to Bitcoin. You can't transfer instantly yes but it's not a problem for them, they are not looking for a Paypal alternative

Gold and cash are just as decentralized as Bitcoin, but offer way more privacy because there is no way you can track transactions conducted by criminals who exchange these assets somewhere outside in a parking lot.

I can buy gold without an ID from local jewelry or pawn stores (of course not an infinite amount), while I can't buy Bitcoin as easily. The only way to buy Bitcoin locally is to search for sellers around you that are trusted enough.

People credit Bitcoin too much for its usefulness and privacy that it offers to criminals, while Bitcoin in reality is a horrible tool for that. If people understood how Bitcoin worked they would know that as well.

That was exactly my point. But since the media prefer to publish articles on this kind of subject, people only remember that. On top of that, how many researches have been published to finally say that the percentage of BTC transactions related to illegal activities is very low?

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's World Drug Report 2005 estimates the size of the global illicit drug market at US$321.6 billion in 2003 alone. With a world GDP of US$36 trillion in the same year

just for the drug industry

In December 2009 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa claimed
illegal drug money saved the banking industry from collapse.<==

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade

This and it is worth to mention, that Bitcoin is not the best option for criminals, because LE is learning fast how to trace them (even when they have been mixed). It is not easy to cash out or shop with illicit Bitcoins these days.

[LeGaulois]

@AGD
Yes, that's why we have a saying in my country. Go sweep at your house before looking at others
By the way, the last time I asked myself a question
Almost all banknotes in circulation contain drugs. (Contaminated currency) Compared to Bitcoin which has a limit supply, in 50 years all bitcoins will be contaminated