Partial imprisonment

Thousands of euros transferred by fraudsters

Criminologists call them "money mules". This refers to people who make their bank accounts available for money laundering. A Romanian was sentenced for this on Thursday in the provincial capital of Salzburg.

According to the indictment, the accused Romanian (39) allegedly received money from fraudsters in seven cases and transferred it from his account to another bank account belonging to the criminals. The accused, who is in custody, confessed but only admitted to four of the seven cases charged. Accordingly, he received around 31,000 euros from fraudsters into his account in the fall of 2019 and immediately transferred this money to other accounts.

Recruited to launder money

The unknown fraudsters had sent phishing emails to around 450 customers of a bank. Some bank customers fell for the fake bank letter. And the stolen money ended up in the accounts of the so-called "money mules", who are recruited specifically for this type of crime. The accused claimed that he had received 2,000 euros for his activities.

The sentence, which has already become final, is twelve months in prison, three of which are unconditional. The Romanian had already served this period in pre-trial detention, which is why he was allowed to return home today.