On the request of the Spanish and Portuguese authorities, Eurojust has coordinated a serious operation across Europe to halt an elaborate funding fraud with cryptocurrencies. Throughout an action day, 5 suspects have been arrested, together with the alleged major perpetrator behind the rip-off. By way of an internet funding platform, he defrauded over 100 victims in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, amongst others, of at the least EUR 100 million.
Through the joint action day, 5 locations have been searched in each Spain and Portugal, in addition to in Italy, Romania and Bulgaria, the place financial institution accounts and different monetary belongings have been additionally frozen. The alleged major perpetrator is suspected of large-scale fraud and cash laundering.
The fraud had been operating for a number of years, with the principle suspect providing excessive returns on investments in numerous cryptocurrencies by way of professionally designed on-line platforms. Massive components of these investments have been diverted primarily to financial institution accounts in Lithuania to launder the proceeds. As soon as victims tried to recuperate their investments, they have been requested to pay extra charges, after which the web site that was used for the fraud disappeared. Subsequently, the buyers misplaced most or, in some instances, all of their cash.
Eurojust supported the establishing of a joint investigation crew (JIT) between the Spanish and Lithuanian authorities to help with the data trade on the fraud scheme. This fraud had been operating since at the least 2018, and lined 23 totally different international locations, as an example, both as areas used to divert proceeds of the rip-off or as areas the place victims have been primarily based.
Aside from the assist to arrange the JIT, Eurojust coordinated the joint action day and organised coordination conferences for its preparation. Moreover, the Company assisted with the execution of a European Arrest Warrant and European Investigation Orders and freezing orders.
Since September 2020, Europol has supplied operational and analytical assist to the nationwide investigators. Europol joined the JIT and deployed a cryptocurrency professional to Portugal to help Spanish and Portuguese authorities in seizing crypto belongings on the action day.
The actions on the bottom have been carried out on the request of and by the next authorities:
- Spain: Investigative Courtroom no. 1 of the Audiencia Nacional; Anti-Corruption Public Prosecutor’s Workplace (PPO); Policia Nacional
- Portugal: Central Division of Legal Investigation and Prosecution Lisbon; Central Courtroom of Legal Investigation Lisbon; Judiciary Police
- Bulgaria: PPO Sofia Metropolis; District PPO Plovdiv
- Italy: PPO Turin; Guardia di Finanza – Nucleo Centrale Polizia Valutaria Rome; Guardia di Finanza – Nucleo Polizia Economico Finanzaria Turin
- Lithuania: Prosecutor Basic’s Workplace, Monetary Crime Investigation Service
- Romania: Prosecution Workplace of the Excessive Courtroom of Justice – Directorate for Investigation of Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT); Prosecution Workplace of the Courtroom of Attraction Bucharest; Romanian Police – Directorate for Combatting Organised Crime, Service for Monetary Investigations
