Fraud affected victims in 23 countries
Authorities across Europe have arrested five suspects and frozen assets in a coordinated crackdown on a cryptocurrency investment scam worth more than €100 million.
The action was led by the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), at the request of Spanish and Portuguese investigators. It targeted an elaborate online fraud that has been running since at least 2018 and affected victims in 23 countries. The alleged ringleader was among those detained and is accused of large-scale fraud and money laundering.
According to investigators, the scheme lured hundreds of investors from Germany, France, Italy, Spain and elsewhere with promises of high returns on cryptocurrency investments. Victims were persuaded to use professionally designed trading platforms, but their money was diverted into bank accounts, primarily in Lithuania, to be laundered. When investors attempted to withdraw their funds, they were hit with extra “fees” before the fraudulent platforms abruptly disappeared, leaving them with little or nothing.
The joint action day saw coordinated searches at locations in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria. Authorities also executed freezing orders against bank accounts and other assets linked to the scheme.
Eurojust supported the operation by setting up a joint investigation team between Spain and Lithuania, coordinating cross-border information exchange and facilitating the execution of European Arrest Warrants and Investigation Orders. Europol, which has been supporting the case since 2020, provided operational analysis and deployed a cryptocurrency expert to Portugal to help seize digital assets.
The investigation involved multiple national authorities, including Spain’s Audiencia Nacional and Policía Nacional, Portugal’s Judiciary Police, Italy’s Guardia di Finanza, Bulgaria’s Prosecutor’s Office, Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), and Lithuania’s Financial Crime Investigation Service.
Officials said the operation highlights the growing sophistication of cryptocurrency fraud networks and the need for international collaboration to track and disrupt them.