Police in Belgium say they have broken up a large criminal network involved in skimming ATM cards.
15 people were arrested in three countries on Wednesday. Some of the offences are alleged to have been committed in Ireland, and part of the investigation was carried out by gardaí and Irish prosecution services.
Seven people were arrested in Belgium, six in Romania and two in Spain as part of an action co-ordinated by Europol, the police intelligence service based in The Hague, and Europjust, the network of European public prosecutors.
Offences by the gang are alleged to have been committed in Romania, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Britain, Spain and Cyprus.
Outside Europe offences were alleged to have been committed in Turkey, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Dominican Republic and Morocco.
Skimming takes place when criminals place a card reading device over the card slot on an ATM machine, sometimes incorporating a small camera to read the PIN.
With this data, the criminals can then use copy cards to steal money from bank accounts.
