European authorities have taken down a long-running cryptocurrency fraud operation that conned more than 100 victims out of at least 100 million euros (US$118 million), EU judicial body Eurojust said Tuesday. Police raided properties in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria, arresting five suspects, including the alleged mastermind behind the scam. Victims were promised huge returns on cryptocurrency investments via professionally designed online platforms, Eurojust said in a statement. The money handed over was then diverted to Lithuania for laundering. “Once victims tried to recover their investments, they were asked to pay additional fees, after which the website that was used for the fraud disappeared,” according to Eurojust. “Subsequently the investors lost most, or in some cases, all of their money.” The scheme had been running since at least 2018, spanning some 23 countries, according to Eurojust, which coordinated what it called a “major operation”. The 100 victims also came from a variety of European countries, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain. The alleged ringleader is suspected of large-scale fraud and money laundering. The raids took place last week but the information was only made public on Tuesday due to legal proceedings underway in various countries.
