Money muling & Helmi

Paparazzi flashed their cameras as Helmi strutted along the red carpet towards the door of a new club in her fashionable dark outfit. A smile to the cameras. A cute, casual wave. Making sure that the bag was showing – and angled just right. And then a quick dash through the door before the cold got to her bare arms.

‘I know exactly what song to pair with this footage’, she thought as soon as she was inside, playing the captured video clip on her phone. Editing the video took seconds, her fingers moving almost automatically. She had to get the video published straight away – her followers were waiting. Everyone who was anyone seemed to be at the club launch, and if Helmi did not post now, she would miss her window. The event itself was not important; what mattered was how it looked on screen.

The invitation to this high-profile bash had come from people Helmi had met on social media. The first had been Isabella. She had posted a funny comment on Helmi’s video, then another. Soon, the two had been exchanging private messages. Isabella seemed almost too perfect: she had a mass of followers, great fashion sense and she was always online when Helmi needed someone to talk to.

Helmi and Isabella had become friends practically overnight. Even though they had never met in real life. Isabella had described herself as an introvert who loved peace and quiet and her own space. Helmi understood. A lot of people on social media were like that.

Helmi was very fond of Isabella. Not just because Isabella’s messages brightened up Helmi’s evenings but also because Isabella had offered a solution to a problem that Helmi usually kept to herself: money. Her followers were always demanding new content – new clothes, events, luxury. Everything looked free on social media but, in real life, nothing was.

The side hustle proposed by Isabella sounded wonderfully easy but felt like an answer to Helmi’s prayers. All she had to do was give her bank account number to Isabella and transfer payments from Isabella to others as and when instructed. She would earn a small reward, a few tens of euros, for each transfer. And she would get invited to VIP events, which was exactly what her followers craved. Isabella had even dropped hints about a bag that Helmi had lusted over for months.

Helmi kept getting more and more followers. Her new bag on the red carpet flooded her profile with comments. Her social media filled with hearts and flame emojis. Helmi felt a sense of gratitude towards Isabella. She did have her doubts at times, however – especially when she kept asking to meet Isabella in real life and Isabella never would. But Helmi pushed her uneasy thoughts aside. Maybe Isabella just wanted to be online friends. And their current arrangement was working just fine.

Weeks turned into months. The money transfers had become part of Helmi’s routine. She had learned not to ask questions. Isabella did not take kindly to nosiness. It was easier to just do what Isabella said and keep everything running smoothly.

After a little while, Isabella wanted more: could Helmi also get her friends involved? Easy money and no risk. Helmi hesitated, because recruiting her friends would mean telling them about her side hustle. But Isabella was adamant and it was clear from her tone that saying no was not an option. Helmi therefore approached Anni and Suski. Both were keen to get involved – easy money appealed to them as well.

Then, something unexpected happened. On a normal evening in May, the doorbell rang and Helmi found two police officers standing at her door. Deadpan faces, few words. Helmi felt time slow down when the officers told her to come with them. She was suspected of involvement in organised crime.

With her heart pounding, Helmi sat in the interview room and learned the truth. Helmi had been part of a widespread money laundering operation based in Sweden. When she asked about Isabella, one of the officers sighed and told her that Isabella did not exist. The social media profile belonged to a criminal organisation.

Helmi was charged with abetting aggravated money laundering, convicted and given a criminal record. Her future, which had been bright and promising, now looked bleak and fractured.

But the conviction was not what hurt Helmi the most. The worst thing was the publicity. Helmi’s budding career as an influencer was gone, as her followers dropped off one by one. She was no longer getting invited to events, and her sponsorships were all discontinued.

Anni and Suski, who had been recruited by Helmi, were also charged, and now their future plans, too, were in jeopardy. Both naturally blamed Helmi for everything and ended their friendship with her.

Helmi was left with nothing. She kept thinking back to the red flags that had been plain to see but that she had ignored time and time again. She had been exploited by organised crime, and it had ruined her life.