"Law enforcement authorities in Europe have arrested five suspects in connection with an "elaborate" online investment fraud scheme that stole more than €100 million ($118 million) from over 100 victims in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. According to Eurojust, the coordinated action saw searches in five places across Spain and Portugal, as well as in Italy, Romania and Bulgaria. Bank accounts and other financial assets associated with the cybercrime ring were frozen."
"The main perpetrator behind the operation has been accused of large-scale fraud and money laundering by running an online investment platform for several years, tricking unsuspecting individuals into parting with their funds by promising them high returns on investments in various cryptocurrencies. Once the deposits were made, the funds were transferred to bank accounts in Lithuania to launder them. Victims who attempted to withdraw their assets from the platform were asked to pay additional fees, after which the website used to conduct the scam vanished."
"A number of judicial and law enforcement agencies from Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, and Spain participated in the fraud scheme investigation. "This fraud had been running since at least 2018, and covered 23 different countries, for instance, either as areas used to divert proceeds of the scam or as locations where victims were based," Eurojust, which coordinated the effort along with support from Europol, said."
Five suspects were arrested in Europe for an elaborate online investment fraud that stole more than €100 million from over 100 victims across France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Searches took place in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria, and bank accounts and assets were frozen. The main perpetrator ran an online platform promising high cryptocurrency returns, transferred deposits to Lithuanian bank accounts to launder funds, and required extra fees to process withdrawals before the website disappeared. Judicial and law enforcement agencies from multiple European countries participated, with Eurojust coordinating the effort alongside Europol. The U.S. FTC reported a record $12.5 billion lost to fraud in 2024, with investment scams causing the largest share.
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