RELATED NEWS: Mastermind behind $45 million global ATM heist, linked to Liberty Reserve, found shot dead in Dominican Republic

Liberty Reserve was in recent news when it was shut down before Memorial Day weekend. On Tuesday, 28-MAY-2013, it was revealed that it is indeed involved in much of money laundering. Specifically, a recent global-scale ATM heisit.

Elvis Rafael Rodriguez (left) and Emir Yasser Yeje (right)
flashing the money believed to have been stolen from
the ATMs in the US (courtesy Associated Press)

Two attacks, one in December 2012 and one in March 2013 were a new breed of coordinated financial fraud, where a flash mob of criminals in 27 countries, armed with stolen account numbers, which allowed them to generate fake ATM cards, was able to drained 45 million from two Middle Eastern banks through ATMs all over the world in a matter of hours through... outsourcing. Each group takes their own cut and sent the rest on through a series of electronic cut outs, and the largest cut out is Liberty Reserve, officials stated.

Seven people were already arrested in the US associated with this massive theft, though who is the true mastermind behind this is still unknown. Two of the associates was apparently brave enough to leave evidence of their criminal act, see right.

US head of the heist, Alberto Yusi Lajud-Pena, was shot dead in Dominican Republic in what is believed to be a gang dispute. 



The US take in the fraud was limited to 7.2 million probably due to better inter-bank communications and higher level of fraud alertness.

There is no word on how did well did law enforcement in the other 26 countries have done with their local "cell" of criminals.

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