European authorities have apprehended nine individuals linked to a cryptocurrency money laundering network that defrauded victims of over €600 million.
The investigation, spearheaded by Eurojust, the EU’s judicial cooperation agency, involved prosecutors from France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, and Cyprus.
According to Eurojust, the suspects allegedly created fraudulent crypto investment websites, along with fake advertisements, news articles, and celebrity endorsements, to scam individuals out of substantial sums of money.
Approximately €600 million is believed to have been laundered through this operation. The arrests took place between October 27 and 29, during which authorities also confiscated €800,000 from bank accounts, €415,000 in cryptocurrency, and €300,000 in cash.
This development follows a recent event in which the US government seized around $15 billion worth of Bitcoin tied to what prosecutors labeled as one of the largest cryptocurrency fraud and human trafficking operations ever uncovered.