26/03/2018 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 26 March, Europol announced that the Spanish authorities had arrested the suspected “brain” behind the Carbanak and Cobalt cyber-attacks, thanks to an operation between several national police forces and with the involvement of the European Banking Federation (EBF). The criminal operations carried out since 2013 targeting some 100 financial institutions in more than 40 countries are believed to have cost the financial industry €1 billion. According to Europol, some of the criminal profits have been laundered through prepaid cards connected to portfolios of virtual currencies. Welcoming his organisation's first cooperation mission with Europol, the Director of the EBF, Wim Mijs, stressed the importance of cooperation between public and private sectors in order to tackle digital cross-border crimes effectively. (MF)