Five Ukrainian residents have been identified by the National Police of Ukraine’s (NPU) cybercrime fighting division as participants in a massive worldwide fraud operation that attracted victims with claims of huge returns on fraudulent investments in cryptocurrencies and stocks.
According to Ukrainian police officials, the organization responsible for the criminal enterprise had set up call centers and representative offices all throughout Europe. According to a press release, the expected losses from its operations approached €200 million ($207 million).
Together with the NPU’s Main Investigative Department, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, and with assistance from Europol, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, and Eurojust, the EU’s organization for judicial cooperation, the operation was carried out.
The investigation against the group, which was initiated in Ukraine in 2020, also benefited from the assistance of law enforcement officials from Albania, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, and Spain. According to the Cyberpolice, judicial cases have been opened in seven different nations about the situation.
Globally, Thousands of Investors Have Been Swindled
More than 2,000 people worked for the criminal organization’s customer service centers, which were located throughout many European nations. Their primary objective was to persuade investors that trading equities, bonds, and options in addition to investing in cryptocurrencies would result in significant gains.
According to Europol, the transnational group’s illegal activities have had an impact on hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. On its platforms, the scheme simulated asset growth, but investors were never able to withdraw their profits.
