The European authorities have struck a major blow. A tentacular network of crypto scams, active in several countries and suspected of having diverted and laundered over 700 million euros, was dismantled following a series of coordinated raids in late October and late November. The case illustrates how crypto investment frauds have taken on an almost industrial scale.
Fake trading sites, deepfakes, and aggressive call centers
The modus operandi was well-oiled. The criminal group operated a constellation of fake crypto investment platforms, dressed in sophisticated marketing campaigns, often enhanced with deepfakes. Victims, attracted by promises of high returns, were then redirected to call centers where operators trained in social engineering coerced them into depositing more and more.
Once the funds were transferred, they disappeared into complex money laundering circuits relying on multiple blockchains, exchanges, and bank accounts, making traceability difficult for investigators.
Coordinated raids in three countries and dismantling of the marketing infrastructure
On October 27, a first wave of interventions took place in Cyprus, Germany, and Spain. Nine people were arrested, while authorities seized bank accounts, crypto, cash, electronic equipment, and luxury goods.
The second offensive, on November 25 and 26, targeted the network’s essential infrastructure: the affiliate and advertising companies fueling the scams with prospects. These entities managed deceptive advertising campaigns, collected potential investors’ data, and optimized victim recruitment.
According to Europol, the operation not only disrupted the fraudulent sites but also the entire acquisition chain, a key element in preventing the rapid reconstitution of the network.
A scam system turned multinational and hyper-structured
The investigation reveals that the network was not simply an isolated fraudulent site. It operated as a complete ecosystem, with teams dedicated to prospecting, marketing, psychological manipulation, and cross-border laundering. The seized technical infrastructure should allow investigators to dig deeper: servers, transaction histories, databases, links to other criminal entities.
This case also highlights the rise of highly professionalized criminal networks in the crypto ecosystem. And it comes just days after Europol dismantled a mixing service accused of laundering over 1.5 billion dollars in bitcoin.
A strong signal as crypto scams continue to proliferate
For European authorities, this crackdown sends a clear message: crypto investment scams, now globalized and equipped with almost industrial infrastructures, will be pursued with the same intensity as traditional financial crimes.
