What exactly is the supposed connection between these specific ATMs and money laundering? Nothing in the referenced article mentions ATMs.
They get a clean €101 when someone makes a withdrawal, and the tourist has no problem spending the money.
Other than that, this would then not be any different from a regular cash deposit, no?
As far as I can tell, this is more common in the US – I'd be quite surprised if Euronet depended on business owners to restock their machines rather than having their own couriers doing that.
But in either case, I don't see how a merchant could hide anything using an ATM: Dispensing $100 of cash via a self-operated ATM has exactly the same effect on their bank account as depositing $100 of cash directly at their bank, no?
They are scam but not for money laundering. Just scam.