In the context of cybercrime, criminals increasingly rely on “money mules” to remain undetected. Money mules are typically socio-economically vulnerable individuals who provide their bank account details to criminals in exchange for a promised payment. Because investigative authorities can often trace only the money mules, these individuals face significant criminal and civil liability in court. Yet, they are generally unaware of the role they play in facilitating criminal activities.
In this exploratory paper, we outline the phenomenon of money mules and examine how Belgian criminal law and the law of delict address cases involving socio-economically vulnerable individuals. Our main conclusion is twofold. First, there are several opportunities for legal actors to prevent disproportionate consequences for unwitting money mules. However, accessing these opportunities often depends on the discretion (or goodwill) of those same legal actors. Second, the imposition of civil compensation frequently places a heavy burden on money mules, thereby undermining the broader objectives of criminal law.