Law enforcement authorities in Europe have arrested five suspects linked to a massive cryptocurrency investment fraud ring that stole more than €100 million ($118 million) from over 100 victims.
The joint investigation, coordinated by Eurojust and supported by Europol, involved investigative teams from Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania, and Romania.
According to Eurojust, the fraud had been running for several years, with the main suspect promising unusually high returns on cryptocurrency investments via professionally designed online platforms. Instead of investing the funds, a large portion of the money was funneled into Lithuanian bank accounts controlled by the scammers.
When victims attempted to withdraw their assets, they were forced to pay additional fees, after which the fraudulent websites went offline, leaving them with heavy losses.
Authorities confirmed that five locations were searched across Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania, and Bulgaria during the action day, with bank accounts and financial assets frozen. The main perpetrator is suspected of large-scale fraud and money laundering. The operation had been active since at least 2018, targeting investors across 23 countries.
This is not the first time European police have taken action against similar schemes. In June, Spanish police arrested five suspects linked to laundering $540 million (€460 million) in cryptocurrency scams, while another fraud operation dismantled in July had caused losses exceeding $11.8 million (€10 million).
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Earlier this year, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission revealed that Americans lost a record $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, with investment scams accounting for $5.7 billion of the total losses.
