| Eurojust | European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation
eurojust.europa.eu
Eurojust Press Team
Nine people suspected of money laundering have been arrested during a synchronised operation that took place in three countries at the same time. The suspects set up a cryptocurrency money laundering network that scammed victims out of over EUR 600 million. Eurojust, the EU’s judicial cooperation hub, ensured that French, Belgian, Cypriot, German and Spanish authorities worked together to take the network down.
The members of the network created dozens of fake cryptocurrency investment platforms that looked like legitimate websites and promised high returns. They recruited their victims using a variety of methods such as social media advertising, cold calling, fake news articles and fake testimonials from celebrities or successful investors.
When victims would transfer cryptocurrency to the platforms, they were never able to recover their money. The crypto assets earned through the various scams were then laundered using blockchain technology. The criminals were able to launder approximately EUR 600 million.
Investigations into the network started when authorities received several complaints from victims. Eurojust ensured that the authorities were able to work together in a fast and efficient manner by setting up a joint investigation team between French and Belgian authorities. As other countries had to be involved during the actions, Eurojust brought prosecutors and investigative judges from France, Belgium, Cyprus, Spain and Germany together to plan the takedown of the network.
Actions against the suspects took place on 27 and 29 October and were coordinated from the Eurojust premises in The Hague. Nine suspects were arrested at their homes in Cyprus, Spain and Germany on suspicion of their involvement in money laundering from fraudulent activities. At the same time, searches took place that resulted in the seizure of EUR 800 000 in bank accounts, EUR 415 000 in cryptocurrencies and EUR 300 000 in cash.
The actions were carried out by the following authorities:
France: Investigative Judge of the Court of Paris JUNALCO (National Jurisdiction against Organised Crime) - Cybercrime Unit; Gendarmerie Nationale - Cyber Unit
Belgium: PPO Limburg; Investigating Judge of the Court of 1st Instance in Limburg; Federal Judicial Police Limburg
Cyprus: Attorney General's Office; MOKAS; Cyprus Police
Germany: Public Prosecutor’s Office Cologne; Cologne Criminal Police
Spain: PPO Barcelona - International Cooperation Section; Investigative Court num 5 in Vilanova i la Geltrú; Mossos d’Esquadra (Cybercrime Central Area); Policía Nacional (Cybercrime Central Unit and Barcelona and Oviedo Provincial Brigade of Judicial Police)
Phishing attacks increased nearly 40 percent in the year ending August 2024, with much of that growth concentrated at a small number of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) -- such as .shop, .top, .xyz -- that attract scammers with rock-bottom…
Beware before calling Apple for assistance as scammers are creating malicious ads and fake pages to lure you in.
Discover how SMS scammers are exploiting cloud storage to host scam websites with the intention of stealing sensitive information
Explore the shift in phishing from Dark web to Telegram, where cybercriminals trade tools and data, and uncover Guardio's insights on countering this menace.
A new strain of ransomware called MadCat has been linked by security researchers to suspected scammers who pretend to sell passport details on the dark web so they can rip off their fellow crooks.
Videos collected by 404 Media over months give a peep inside the world of spoofing numbers, automated call scripts, and a specific seller of the phones.
Chinese sextortion scam accounts flood X (previously Twitter) after the platform introduced a blue-check policy allowing users to buy verified badges.
ESET researchers uncover a toolkit that operates as a Telegram bot and helps scammers target victims on online marketplaces, mainly in Russia.
On cybercrime forums, user complaints about being duped may accidentally expose their real identities.
Scammers go mainstream by hijacking top Google searches and replacing them with malicious ads.
