The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and its international collaborators have arrested five new 'high-value targets' following a continued investigation into the criminal network that perpetrated fraudulent online investment schemes, including binary options fraud, between 2019 and 2021.

Europol Discovers €89M in Losses

In 2021, authorities in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, the Netherlands and Ukraine in collaboration with Europol took down the crime syndicate, arresting one 'high-value target' in Cyprus. Seventeen individuals were questioned on the case after eight houses were searched in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Ukraine.

At the time, the investigation led to 246 criminal proceedings across 15 German federal states, Europol said. The fraudulent online investment schemes were initially thought to have caused investors at least €15 million in losses. However, the authorities in their latest investigation found that the scheme affected at least 33,000 victims with about €89 million in losses.

The new details emerged after a two-day cross-border action carried out by authorities in Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Israel with the support of Europol and the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust). During the operation, 15 locations and five illegal call centres were searched. The centres were recently established in Bulgaria and Romania by suspects (or their associates) from the 2021 operations. Locations in Israel were also searched.

According to Europol’s statement on the action, a number of “high-value assets” were seized during the operations. They include luxury watches, electronic equipment, bank cards, bitcoins, cash, numerous documents and data carriers.

How the Syndicate Operated

According to Europol, the criminal network operated via call centres established in various European countries. They solicited investments from German investors through social media publicity and via "professional-looking banners" on their over 250 websites.

“The scammers encouraged their victims to make small initial investments of between EUR 200 and 250, showing high profits via fake graphics and software. The victims were then contacted by so-called personal financial advisors, who promised even higher profits on bigger investments,” Europol explained, adding that these “higher investments” were subsequently appropriated by the scammers.