Eurojust takes down fraudulent call center in Ukraine, 11 suspects arrested
In coordination with Eurojust, law enforcement authorities from Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine have taken down a fraudulent call center operation.
The call center was set up in Dnipro, Ukraine, with three additional offices. Investigators initially identified victims in Latvia and Lithuania who lost over €160,000. Law enforcement officers later found that operators at the offices scammed people across Europe.
A criminal group orchestrated a fake investment platform. Victims were promised high profits if they invested large sums of money in cryptocurrency, which they never received. To defraud their victims even more, the criminals charged more money to create a fund for legal aid to return lost assets.
Furthermore, the call center employees succeeded in transferring money from their victims to their boss’s bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets by using remote access software.
When nine victims from Latvia and Lithuania filed a report with the local authorities, a joint investigation team was set up at Eurojust.
Law enforcement authorities from Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine met at Eurojust’s office in The Hague, where they exchanged information and evidence on the criminal group’s activities. In addition, they made a plan to take down the fraudulent call center.
On February 17th, a total of 11 suspects were arrested. Ten of them were ordered to be detained, and one suspect was put under house arrest.
Police officers searched 32 locations, seizing electronic equipment, computers, SIM cards, and documents. Additionally, €400,000 in cash was seized, as well as two cryptocurrency wallets and eight luxury cars.
The confiscated devices are currently being analyzed for evidence.
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