TL;DR
- The Guardia Civil dismantled a network that defrauded over 5,000 people through fake crypto investments and laundered more than €460 million.
- The group operated from Spain, Hong Kong, and other countries, using fake accounts, shell companies, and a network of agents to collect funds.
- Europol warned about the rise of these scams, driven by artificial intelligence and social engineering techniques targeting victims worldwide.
Spanish authorities dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to crypto investment fraud that scammed more than 5,000 people across multiple countries.
The operation, coordinated by the Guardia Civil with support from Europol and law enforcement agencies in Estonia, France, and the United States, resulted in five arrests and five searches carried out in the Canary Islands and Madrid.
The investigation began in 2023 after detecting an international structure that raised funds through bank transfers, cash withdrawals, and cryptocurrency transactions. The scammers operated through a global network of representatives who contacted victims by phone, email, and direct messages, offering supposed investments with guaranteed high returns.
The funds collected were laundered through shell companies and exchange accounts registered under different identities. Part of the financial infrastructure was based in Hong Kong, where the group used payment gateways and accounts under third-party names to move the money and obstruct tracking efforts.
Europol Warns About the Proliferation of Crypto Scams
Unlike typical crypto scams, this network combined fake platforms simulating growing balances with personalized persuasion schemes. Victims accessed sites showing supposedly increasing returns but couldn’t withdraw their funds or were asked to make additional deposits to unlock them.
The operation confirmed that the network managed to launder around €460 million, equivalent to about $540 million. During the searches, Europol deployed a cryptocurrency specialist to assist in analyzing evidence and transaction records. Although details about the blockchains or assets used weren’t disclosed. Authorities confirmed the use of both cryptocurrencies and traditional bank transfers.
European authorities warned that this type of fraud has intensified in recent years. Fueled by artificial intelligence and social engineering techniques. The ease of creating fake identities and manipulating financial data allows these groups to operate with high sophistication. Extending their reach far beyond the crypto sector. Investigators noted that weak regulation and a lack of digital financial literacy among certain investor profiles. Enabling these scams to spread on a global scale.
