Two Romanian nationals, Gabriel Niculescu-Stoian, 48, and Alexandru Tulba, 41, have been arrested for allegedly stealing over $800,000 from ATMs in Sydney through a sophisticated skimming scheme.

The Australian Federal Police were alerted by banks in April 2025 about tampering at ATMs, leading to the suspects' arrest at a Chatswood home on May 22, 2025.

The skimming operations targeted ATMs in various Sydney suburbs, including Chatswood, Darlinghurst, Burwood, and Haymarket, as well as in Illawarra suburbs like Warilla and Shellharbour.

The stolen bank information was reportedly cloned onto other cards, which were then used to withdraw funds from victims' accounts, resulting in significant financial losses.

Following their arrest, the Australian Federal Police charged the men with money laundering and stealing financial information.

If convicted, Niculescu-Stoian and Tulba could face up to 20 years in prison for money laundering and three years for related charges.

In addition to fraud charges, Tulba faces charges for possessing a false foreign travel document and providing false information to authorities.

The two men are scheduled to appear in Hornsby Local Court on May 23, 2025, facing multiple charges including money laundering and dishonest use of financial information.

A third man was questioned in relation to the scheme but was released pending further inquiries.

Investigations are ongoing to determine if the pair is linked to a previous scam in 2023 and if they are part of a larger criminal syndicate.

Detective Superintendent Marie Andersson stated that the scheme harmed many Australians during a financially challenging time, emphasizing the criminals' motivations driven by greed.

Police allege that the men used skimmers, thin metal devices, to capture data from the magnetic strips of bank cards inserted into ATMs.