Tracking a Money-Laundering Scheme with Air Miles

An article by Pete Syme called, “Investigators cracked a $130 million money-laundering scheme by tracing the ringleader’s air miles” discusses how investigators tracked a money-laundering scheme by tracing a ringleader’s frequent flyer miles. The Wall Street Journey initially reported that over US$131 million in cash was smuggled between London and Dubai in 83 trips. UK’s National Crime Agency stated the network of couriers collected cash from criminal groups across the UK, believed to be the proceeds of drug dealing, and packed it into suitcases, containing about US$500,000 each. The couriers communicated though a WhatsApp group called “Sunshine and lollipops”. The ringleader booked their airline tickets with his Emerites credit card. He then used the frequent flyer miles he earned to book first class tickets for himself. The total convicted is 16 with some awaiting sentencing. The ringleader received a sentence of more than nine years in March 2022.