European Police Dismantle €50 Million Crypto Investment Fraud Call-Center Network

Austrian and Albanian authorities, supported by Europol and Eurojust, dismantled a large online investment fraud operation that allegedly stole at least €50 million from victims across Europe and other regions. The network operated from call centers in Tirana, Albania, where investigators said it was run like a legitimate business with up to 450 employees spanning management, finance, IT, HR, customer acquisition, and retention roles. Victims were lured through fake broker and cryptocurrency investment platforms promoted on search engines, websites, and social media, then pressured by multilingual operators posing as brokers or advisers to transfer more money.

A coordinated action on 17 April led to 10 arrests, searches of three call centers and nine homes, and the seizure of €891,735 in cash along with hundreds of computers and phones. Investigators said the group used remote access software and an international money-laundering scheme to divert funds rather than invest them, and in some cases targeted victims a second time with a bogus recovery service that demanded a €500 cryptocurrency payment. Authorities said the seized infrastructure and data are expected to support additional investigations in other affected countries.