Are you accused of fraud for lending your bank account?
In recent years, new types of fraud have emerged. You may have been asked for your account number, and told that if you received a sum of money, you could keep a small commission. In this article I will explain what money mules are and what legal consequences they face.
What is a money mule?
Money mules are people who, knowingly or unknowingly, allow their bank account to be used to transfer or receive money from illegal activities, such as money laundering or fraud.
Generally, these people are recruited by criminal organizations with the purpose of moving money of fraudulent origin, making it appear legal or to hide its trail.
How do money mules participate in committing a crime?
As we explained earlier in our article on computer fraud, phishing is a form of fraud that seeks to obtain information or banking credentials from other people using different methods.
A common example is sending SMS messages that appear to be from a bank, postal service,
Is it a crime to provide my Bizum to a stranger?
Money mules and the crime of fraud
The Supreme Court has ruled in very different ways regarding the involvement of money mules in fraud. When the role of the money mule is to open a checking account for the sole purpose of receiving money from fraudulent transfers, when there is a high number of transfers or a large amount of money.
The participation of money mules constitutes a decisive factor for the completion of the crime of fraud, regardless of their involvement in it.
Especially when they benefited from the transfers by receiving «payments» for their services, since without their participation the fraud could not have been committed. Furthermore, ignorance of the origin of the money does not eliminate their culpability.
However, it has also considered that when personal data is provided to open a bank account or lent to a third party, despite constituting necessary cooperation for fraudulent activity, it is an unintentional participation that has no criminal liability since there was no intent to deceive, the core element of the crime of fraud.
Therefore, the conviction for fraud will depend on each case, where their true relationship with the perpetrator of the fraud or whether they received any payment in commission will be taken into account. In those circumstances they may be convicted as a necessary accomplice to a crime of fraud. If they only provided
Can I be convicted for being a money mule?
Attorney specializing in money mules and fraud
Can the amount of money make a difference?
Another criterion reinforced by jurisprudence is the relevance of the amount.
The crime of money laundering does not only protect the assets of a specific person, but the socioeconomic order as a whole. Therefore, in cases of small amounts, courts have indicated that there may not be a real impact on that legal interest.
In practical terms, special consideration is given to whether there are:
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systematic repetition of operations,
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existence of an organized structure,
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clear acts of concealment or camouflage,
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distribution of commissions or benefits for each transfer.
When these elements do not appear and the amount is minimal, the conduct may be outside the criminal offense due to insignificance
Abogado penalista en Madrid (Graduado en Derecho y ADE con Máster de Acceso a la Abogacía), experto en procedimientos complejos y técnicos en Derecho Penal. Cuenta con títulos como el Curso de DerechoPenal Avanzado impartido por magistrados del Tribunal Supremo en el Iltre. Colegio de Abogacía de Madrid.