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May 10th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
The US yesterday charged seven people, aged 22 to 35, who prosecutors
described as the New York cell of the international operation.
A eighth man, Alberto Yusi Lajud-Peña, 23, who prosecutors said was the
group’s leader, was included on the indictment but was murdered two weeks
ago in the Dominican Republic.
A spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office told The Daily Telegraph that
co-conspirators in Britain and other countries remained at large. “This
is an active and ongoing investigation,” he said.
British police as well as other law enforcement agencies from Europe, the
Middle East, and Asia assisted in the investigation that led to the New York
prosecution.
The heist unfolded in two stages, described by hackers as “Unlimited
Operations”. On December 22, 2012, hackers allegedly stole details of
Mastercard debit cards from the National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah PSC, based
in the United Arab Emirates.
After successfully removing withdrawal limits, they allegedly dispatched teams
across 20 countries to physically withdraw cash using fake cards. In New
York alone, they hit 140 cash points in a little over two hours. Worldwide,
£3 million was stolen.
On February 19, they allegedly struck again, this time targeting the Bank of
Muscat in Oman. But the scale of the operation had multiplied from 4,500
withdrawals in December to 36,000 in February. Over the course of ten hours
they allegedly stole £26 million.
“Moving as swiftly as data over the Internet, the organization worked its
way from the computer systems of international corporations to the streets
of New York City, with the defendants fanning out across Manhattan to steal
millions of dollars from hundreds of ATMs in a matter of hours,” said
Miss Lynch.
In the weeks following the heist, the gang allegedly struggled to launder the
enormous piles of cash and cover the traces of their crime. Lajud-Peña and
two other co-defendants – Elvis Rafael Rodriguez, 24, and Emir Yasser Yeje,
24 – allegedly carried $150,000 in the form of 7,491 $20 bills into a Miami
bank to deposit.
They also appear to have spent lavishly, buying up Rolex watches and cars from
Mercedes and Porsche.
Lajud-Peña headed to the Dominican Republic, where he was shot to death on
April 27. Rodriguez was arrested as he tried to leave the US for the
Dominican Republic in March and the other six were arrested or surrendered
in the weeks that followed.
The investigation that led to their arrest involved agents from the US Secret
Service and the US Department of Homeland Security.
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