Russian financial watchdog reports continued decline in money mules

Russia’s financial monitoring service is seeing a cautious downward trend in the number of money mules, although their numbers remain high, deputy director German Neglyad told RIA Novosti.

He spoke on the sidelines of the sixth International Financial Security Olympiad. Neglyad was responding to a question about whether the decline had continued after the first half of 2026.

According to figures previously provided by the service to RIA Novosti, the number of money mules fell by 15% in January–June compared with the same period in 2025. The volume of suspicious transactions involving them declined by 60%. These are separate measures of participants and transaction volume.

Money mules are intermediaries who provide bank cards to fraudsters for a fee to transfer or cash out stolen funds. The agency noted that criminal liability for this activity has applied since July 2025, with further measures against recruitment into these schemes provided under Federal Law No. 210-FZ.