European Police Arrest Seven and Seize Over 100 Servers in Investment Fraud Crackdown

European law enforcement authorities have arrested seven suspects and seized more than 100 servers in a coordinated international action against an unnamed company suspected of providing fraudulent trading websites to criminal gangs. The operation was supported by Europol and Eurojust and involved authorities from Albania, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. It followed four years of investigation and earlier interventions in 2022 and 2025. The investigation began in 2022 after a German couple reported they could not withdraw money they had invested through an online trading platform. Investigators subsequently linked multiple call center operators behind investment scams to potential victims in at least 50 countries. According to Europol, evidence gathered during earlier operations pointed to the company allegedly operating a so-called crime-as-a-service model from Cyprus and Israel. Investigators also identified suspected clients operating fraudulent call centers in Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. The scheme promised potential victims substantial, quick returns from trading in foreign currencies, stocks, or cryptocurrency. Deceptive advertisements directed victims to fraudulent investment platforms where their personal data was stolen. That data was later sold to criminal groups running call centers, whose operators contacted victims with supposed investment opportunities. Victims were encouraged to transfer a small amount and were then shown fake online accounts displaying fictitious profits, making the platforms appear credible. These apparent gains were used to sustain psychological pressure pushing victims into larger transfers. When victims asked to withdraw their money, the scammers used delaying tactics and eventually cut off contact, leaving victims with no way to recover their funds. A first international action day in 2022 resulted in two arrests and the seizure of evidence. Europol-supported analysis helped investigators develop the case and identify seven additional suspects, including suspected call center managers. The action is the latest in a series of similar dismantlements by European law enforcement in recent years. In March 2022, authorities shut down a massive call-center investment fraud network that used 200 so-called traders to steal at least 3 million euros each month. In 2023, police took down multiple call centers across Europe linked to millions of euros in losses and connected to online investment fraud also known as pig butchering or romance baiting scams. In May 2024, European police shut down 12 fraud call centers linked to thousands of daily scam calls. More recent operations include the July 2025 dismantling by Spanish police of a crypto investment fraud ring that laundered more than 460 million euros, roughly 540 million dollars, stolen from over 5,000 victims worldwide. That came one week after authorities took apart a large-scale investment scam operation behind cumulative damages exceeding 10 million euros. In April, Austrian and Albanian authorities also took down a criminal organization that ran a large-scale cryptocurrency investment fraud operation linked to estimated losses of over 50 million euros, approximately 58.5 million dollars.