EU success against cyber mob: Europol coordinates devastating strike against €700 million money laundering ring
- An EU-wide operation dismantled an extensive network of cybercriminals that had laundered over 700 million euros.
- The operation was the culmination of years of investigations into a criminal organization that operated across Europe and Israel war.
What began as an investigation into a single fraudulent crypto platform gradually evolved into a complex, wide-ranging investigative operation that uncovered a vast network of fraud and money laundering.
The actions, carried out in a coordinated manner in several countries last month and earlier this week, are the result of years of investigations and mark the culmination of the effective dismantling of a criminal organization that operated across Europe and beyond.
Coordinated action in several states
On October 27, 2025, the first phase of the operation was carried out, with coordinated police raids in Cyprus, Germany and Spain at the request of the French and Belgian authorities. These initial actions led to the arrest of nine people suspected of laundering illegal funds from fraudulent crypto platforms.
The authorities confiscated assets worth millions of euros, including
- 800,000 euros in bank accounts
- 415,000 euros in cryptocurrencies
- 300,000 Euros in bars
- Computers, smartphones and other digital devices
- Luxury watches
The operation was carried out in close cooperation with the national authorities of France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Malta, Cyprus and other countries. Europol and Eurojust supported this first phase of the investigation.
Second phase aimed at affiliate marketing infrastructure
The second phase, targeting another key pillar of the investment fraud ecosystem, took place on November 25th and 26th, 2025. The focus was on the affiliate marketing infrastructure that supports these online scams. Coordinated action has been taken against the companies and suspects behind fraudulent advertising campaigns on social media platforms. In recent years, misleading advertisements impersonating high-profile media outlets, celebrities and politicians – often using deepfake videos – have posed a significant challenge worldwide. The data of potential investors obtained through manipulated advertising even on reputable platforms is crucial to the functioning of the crypto scam industry as a whole.
During the days of action, law enforcement authorities in Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany and Israel carried out searches and additional operational measures with the support of Europol. Targets included companies that had previously offered affiliate marketing services.
Dismantle criminal infrastructure
The joint actions taken in October and November were a coordinated strike against multiple pillars of the crypto mafia.
The scale of this criminal operation was enormous. The investigation revealed that more than €700 million was laundered through a labyrinth of crypto exchanges, exploiting digital anonymity to conceal illicit flows of funds. Following the two coordinated actions and numerous arrests and seizures, investigative authorities will continue to pursue the criminal organization’s assets in the countries where it operates.
Coordination by Europol
Europol played a central role in the cross-border coordination of the operation, providing both operational and analytical support to ensure its success.
Europol’s contributions included
- Operational meetings with law enforcement agencies from all participating countries to coordinate operational strategy and intelligence gathering.
- Logistical support for the action days, help with operational arrangements and resources.
- Using specialized experts and analysts to review data, generate insights, and ensure key insights are shared between partners.
- Deploying a cryptocurrency specialist to support efforts to identify and seize illegal cryptocurrencies.
- Operational and cryptanalytic intelligence products that provided key insights into the movement of illicit funds and the structure of the fraud network.
Authorities involved
- Belgium: Federal Criminal Police Limburg (Police Judiciaire Fédérale Limburg)
- Bulgaria: Bulgarian Cybercrime Directorate, General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime
- Cyprus: Cyprus Police
- France: National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale)
- Germany: Bavarian Central Office for Combating Cybercrime, Chemnitz Police Department, Görlitz Police Department, Würzburg Criminal Police Department, Düsseldorf Police Department and others
- Israel: National Cybercrime Division, Intelligence Service
- Malta: Maltese Police
- Spain: National Police, Spanish Regional Police of Catalonia (Mossos d’Esquadra)
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