International authorities bust €50M online investment fraud network

Europol, Eurojust, and law enforcement authorities from Austria and Albania have put a stop to a criminal network running a massive online investment fraud scam.

In an operation that spanned over two years, the law enforcement agencies dismantled a network that was operating from several call centers in Albania.

According to Europol, the call centers were professionally set up and organized, resembling legitimate business structures, including a clear division of roles and hierarchical management.

Operators were organized into teams of six to eight individuals, each specializing in a specific language to target their respective national markets. Team leaders supervised the daily activities of their teams, while each call center had a manager responsible for coordinating and guiding the team leaders and overall operations.

All in all, about 450 employees ran the online investment fraud scam. Language familiarity was used to build trust, which was exploited to deceive victims by presenting false investment opportunities.

Victims were instructed to open accounts on cryptocurrency platforms and deposit at least €500 ($587). Operators used this initial deposit to scam them again. Investigators estimate that victims of the malicious investment operation, who were located across Europe and worldwide, transferred over €50 million ($59 million).

On April 17th, 2026, a joint action of Europol, Eurojust, and law enforcement authorities from Austria and Albania was carried out, resulting in the arrest of 10 suspects.

Police officers searched three call centers and nine private homes. In the process, they seized €891,735, 6 laptops, 443 computers, 238 mobile phones, and several HDDs and DVRs, which will undergo further forensic examination.

The investigation is still ongoing and will most likely provide further insights into the criminal network’s operations.

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