Europol: Crypto investment fraud ring dismantled in Spain after defrauding 5 000 victims worldwide. Fraudsters laundered EUR 460 million in illicit proceeds.

On 25 June 2025, the Spanish Guardia Civil, with the support of Europol and law enforcement from Estonia, France and the United States of America, arrested five members of a criminal network engaged in cryptocurrency investment fraud. „The investigation identified that the perpetrators had laundered EUR 460 million in illicit profits stolen through crypto investment fraud from over 5 000 victims from around the world.” – according to the press release. 

The action day led to 5 arrests (3 on the Canary Islands and 2 in Madrid) and 5 searches (3 on the Canary Islands and 2 in Madrid).

Europol started supporting the investigation in 2023. Since then, Europol’s financial crime experts have assisted Spanish authorities by coordinating the investigation, providing operational support, and delivering strategic analysis. On the action day, a crypto specialist was deployed to Spain to assist national investigators, contributing to the successful completion of the operation.

A network of criminal sales representatives around 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. 

Investigators suspect the criminal organisation of having set up a corporate and banking network based in Hong Kong, allegedly 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 ongoing.

Online fraud: an epidemic threatening the EU’s internal security

Online fraud is one of the main key threats to the EU’s internal security identified in Europol’s Serious and Organised Criminal Threat Assessment (EU SOCTA), published in March 2025. Online fraud is an epidemic affecting EU citizens, businesses and public institutions alike. The scale, variety, sophistication and reach of online fraud schemes is unprecedented. Europol expects online fraud to outpace other types of serious and organised crime as it is being accelerated by AI, aiding social engineering and access to data.