Law enforcement authorities dismantle crypto investment fraud scheme

Police officers from the Spanish Guardia Civil have successfully taken down a criminal network that was engaged in a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme.

The investigation into the criminal organization started back in 2023. Europol’s financial crime experts assisted Spanish law enforcement authorities by coordinating the investigation, providing operational support, and delivering strategic analysis.

On June 25, 2025, a specialist in cryptocurrency was sent to Spain to assist the local investigators. That same day, police officers arrested 5 suspects in total, 3 on the Canary Islands and 2 in the Spanish capital Madrid. In addition, 5 house searches were conducted.

Members of the criminal organizations had laundered over €460 million in illicit profits stolen through investment fraud from over 5,000 victims from all over the world.

“To carry out their fraudulent activities, the leaders of the criminal network allegedly used a net of associates spread around the world to raise funds through cash withdrawals, bank transfers, and crypto-transfers,” Interpol says in a press release.

Researchers believe that the criminal organization responsible for the crypto investment fraud scheme has set up a corporate and banking network that is based in Hong Kong, supposedly using payment gateways and user accounts in the names of different people and in different exchanges to receive, store, and transfer criminal funds.

The investigation is still ongoing.

Besides the Guardia Civil, law enforcement authorities from Estonia, France, and the United States of America took part in the investigation.

Last month, law enforcement agencies from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Romania, and the United States dismantled ‘Archetyp Market’, one of the longest-running illegal marketplaces for drugs on the dark web.

The operation was coordinated by Europol as well.