Nine people have been arrested in connection with a coordinated law enforcement operation targeting a crypto money laundering network that defrauded victims of 600 million euros (approximately $688 million).
According to a statement released by Eurojust today, the case took place across Cyprus, Spain and Germany between October 27 and 29, and the suspects were arrested on suspicion of involvement in fraudulent money laundering.
In addition to arresting individuals from the home, authorities conducted searches and seized 800,000 euros ($918,000) in bank accounts, 415,000 euros ($476,000) in virtual currency, and 300,000 euros ($344,000) in cash.
Countries that took part in the ‘synchronization’ initiative alongside Eurojust were institutions from France, Belgium, Cyprus, Germany and Spain.
“Members of the network have created dozens of fake cryptocurrency investment platforms that appear to be legitimate websites and promise high returns,” Eurojust said. “They used a variety of methods to recruit victims, including social media ads, cold calls, fake news articles, and fake testimonials from celebrities and successful investors.”
Once the victims invested their funds on the fake platform, the crypto assets were laundered using blockchain, resulting in approximately 600 million euros in illegal profits.
Eurojust said an investigation into the money laundering and fraud network began after victims complained of not being able to recover their investments, and ultimately culminated in last week’s raid.
The disclosure comes as Europol reveals that the criminal use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain is becoming increasingly specialized, sophisticated and organized, and that a similar response is needed to counter the “transnational nature” of the threat.
“Law enforcement, private sector partners, and academia are rapidly increasing their capabilities to counter threats posed by sophisticated cryptocurrency-related crimes and money laundering,” the agency said. “Advanced tools are reducing reliance on manual tracking, and examples of successful cross-border operations demonstrate the power of collaboration.”
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