Maltese authorities took part in a international crackdown on money laundering that uncovered over 1,500 money 'mules' and 140 criminal organisations, Europol said.

Money "mules" are individuals who are recruited by organisations as money laundering agents to hide the origin of ill-gotten money. Often recruited unwittingly, mules are tricked by the promise of easy money and tasked with transferring stolen funds between accounts on behalf of others.

In a statement, Europol said 168 people were arrested across the world in an international effort that saw the participation of some 30 states, from the United Kingdom to Latvia. The investigation, dubbed the European Money Mule Action, took place from September to November.

The international swoop - the fourth of its kind - was intended to tackle  and raise awareness on the issue of 'money mules', who help criminals launder millions of euros worth of dirty money.

More than 300 banks, 20 bank associations and other financial institutions helped to report 26,376 fraudulent money mule transactions, Europol said, preventing a total loss of €36.1 million.

Europol hoped the action would help to raise awareness on the crime of being a money mule. Newcomers to a country, the unemployed and those in economic distress were often the most vulnerable to being selected by organisations to become a mule, it said.

This year, cases involving young people selected by money mule recruiters were on the rise, with criminals increasingly targeting financially-distressed students to gain access to their bank accounts, Europol warned.

The international watchdog also warned that criminals were turning to social media to recruit potential mules by promising easy money.