Crypto investment fraud ring dismantled in Spain

[zasad@]

https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/crypto-investment-fraud-ring-dismantled-in-spain-after-defrauding-5-000-victims-worldwide

Crypto investment fraud ring dismantled in Spain after defrauding 5 000 victims worldwide

"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.

The action day led to:

5 arrests (3 on the Canary Islands and 2 in Madrid)
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."

[YOSHIE]

Crypto investment fraud ring dismantled in Spain after defrauding 5 000 victims worldwide

This is a complicated case and is one of the cases of success carried out by law enforcers from Estonia, France and the United States in dismantling the crypto investment fraud network, the comparison of suspects is 5/5000 victims of extraordinary achievement.

This operation takes two years to reveal this fraud network, Hong Kong is indeed we know the online mafia country, Many criminal cases and violations of the law occur there, most of the bulging investments, I hope this is the final disclosure case in the world of crypto throughout the world.

I remember 2024, Spain had also banned the exchange of Worldcoin, by law the Spanish government worries Worldcoin about the safety and data of Spaniards who use Worldcoin, Spain is indeed different from other countries, they are not only limited to talking about the law enforced, people are protected and safe in using crypto currencies.

[Z-tight]

Yet another fraud ring dismantled, that is one less group of scammers, which is obviously a good news. It is good when these scammers are taken down, though i know there are still many of such similar groups around the world.

5000 victims worldwide is not a crazy number, but it is still a lot, so you wonder why people are still very gullible to fall for things as silly as cryptocurrency investment scam, i believe it comes down to their greed, offer them somethinh that's too good to be true and they are ready to toss money at it.

[Yaunfitda]

Yet another fraud ring dismantled, that is one less group of scammers, which is obviously a good news. It is good when these scammers are taken down, though i know there are still many of such similar groups around the world.

Yes, this fraud ring has been spreading like wildfires in the last couple of years as it is very lucrative. So regardless if there will be a new scam ring that will be borne out of this one, at least the government and the police are cooperating and doing their best to dismantled them.

5000 victims worldwide is not a crazy number, but it is still a lot, so you wonder why people are still very gullible to fall for things as silly as cryptocurrency investment scam, i believe it comes down to their greed, offer them somethinh that's too good to be true and they are ready to toss money at it.

Most likely this scammers also are smart as they know how to play with their victims mind. And so even if they might have a idea that this is a fraud, still though with high yields, they become so obsessed with it that they forget to follow their logic not to fall for this kind of trick.

[Z-tight]

Most likely this scammers also are smart as they know how to play with their victims mind. And so even if they might have a idea that this is a fraud, still though with high yields, they become so obsessed with it that they forget to follow their logic not to fall for this kind of trick.

Then we can simply put that down to greed, if you have an idea that something is too good to be true, but yet you still go on to do it, that's simply because you are greedy and a lot of people don't have sympathy for such people when they get scammed and lose their money.

at least the government and the police are cooperating and doing their best to dismantled them.

While they are, it is almost impossible for them to take down all the scam rings there are, so people have to protect themselves by getting educated about scams and by not letting their greed get the better of them.

[zasad@]

Crypto investment fraud ring dismantled in Spain after defrauding 5 000 victims worldwide

This is a complicated case and is one of the cases of success carried out by law enforcers from Estonia, France and the United States in dismantling the crypto investment fraud network, the comparison of suspects is 5/5000 victims of extraordinary achievement.

This operation takes two years to reveal this fraud network, Hong Kong is indeed we know the online mafia country, Many criminal cases and violations of the law occur there, most of the bulging investments, I hope this is the final disclosure case in the world of crypto throughout the world.

I remember 2024, Spain had also banned the exchange of Worldcoin, by law the Spanish government worries Worldcoin about the safety and data of Spaniards who use Worldcoin, Spain is indeed different from other countries, they are not only limited to talking about the law enforced, people are protected and safe in using crypto currencies.

I also don't believe that 5 people were able to deceive 5000. In my country there is also a lot of such fraud and in practice these companies manage to work for 6-12 months, using disguises as legal companies. They have the best lawyers and a lot of money for bribes. I heard the opinion that in Asia the situation with bribery is even worse than in Russia.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

I have seen several similar cases, not necessarily linked to cryptocurrencies, and in general the scammers were from different countries. They live in Spain because there is a good life there, good weather, and with the money they have they can rent or buy good houses, but in general 20% at most are Spanish.

I also don't believe that 5 people were able to deceive 5000. In my country there is also a lot of such fraud and in practice these companies manage to work for 6-12 months, using disguises as legal companies. They have the best lawyers and a lot of money for bribes. I heard the opinion that in Asia the situation with bribery is even worse than in Russia.

Well, I don't see it as impossible, with the right technology, well organised and over time it doesn't sound strange to me.

[Deelan1]

I'm so happy to listing this information.
Thanks for share.
They don’t want to do anything legal with their intelligence — scamming people is how they plan to make a living.
I’ve never understood the world of cybercriminals. Most of the time, they’re actually pretty smart and sharp.

[yhiaali3]

We may soon see an Interpol for cryptocurrencies. From what I noticed in the details of the story, a cryptocurrency expert was brought in to assist the Spanish investigators in their work.

Given the expansion of cryptocurrencies and their ubiquity across the globe,we'll certainly see more of these international fraudulent networks. Therefore, there must be a dedicated Interpol for cryptocurrencies, as their technologies are different, and therefore, ordinary investigators may not be able to track wallets and addresses on blockchains, track the use of mixers used for money laundering, and so on.

[zasad@]

I also don't believe that 5 people were able to deceive 5000. In my country there is also a lot of such fraud and in practice these companies manage to work for 6-12 months, using disguises as legal companies. They have the best lawyers and a lot of money for bribes. I heard the opinion that in Asia the situation with bribery is even worse than in Russia.

Well, I don't see it as impossible, with the right technology, well organised and over time it doesn't sound strange to me.

A financial pyramid cannot work for long if it promises good interest. 5 people as organizers are quite enough, but much more additional personnel is required.

We have a new trend in Russia, legal companies are tracking the emergence of such projects and are starting to sue them. Projects are forced to pay bribes to legal companies so that they stop prosecution

[Deelan1]

That’s wild ; when even legal firms get involved in this kind of game, it shows how blurred the lines can get. In the end, the scam isn’t just about tech, it’s about how well it plays the system.

[zasad@]

That’s wild ; when even legal firms get involved in this kind of game, it shows how blurred the lines can get. In the end, the scam isn’t just about tech, it’s about how well it plays the system.

This works because most people don't read the long contracts they sign. If a company gets paid and runs away to another country, it's a clear fraud, but if the company works, goes to court, answers all the inquiries, it's very hard to prove that it's a fraud. Otherwise, the entire investment business can be closed on suspicion of fraud.

[Porfirii]

I have seen several similar cases, not necessarily linked to cryptocurrencies, and in general the scammers were from different countries. They live in Spain because there is a good life there, good weather, and with the money they have they can rent or buy good houses, but in general 20% at most are Spanish.

Don't speak too loud, or we risk a lot of rich bitcointalkers coming to our country and driving up prices .

-snip-

We have a new trend in Russia, legal companies are tracking the emergence of such projects and are starting to sue them. Projects are forced to pay bribes to legal companies so that they stop prosecution

That's surprising. When legal companies accept money from criminal projects, isn't that considered money laundering in your country? According to the Spanish laws, those who accept money knowing that it comes from criminal activities become money launderers simply because they know it's origin.

[zasad@]

That's surprising. When legal companies accept money from criminal projects, isn't that considered money laundering in your country? According to the Spanish laws, those who accept money knowing that it comes from criminal activities become money launderers simply because they know it's origin.

These are very complex legal issues. If you are talking about bribes, then this is illegal, but this is also part of business in many countries. If an investment company operates officially, and there are no complaints about it to government agencies, then it cannot be criminal.

[Porfirii]

That's surprising. When legal companies accept money from criminal projects, isn't that considered money laundering in your country? According to the Spanish laws, those who accept money knowing that it comes from criminal activities become money launderers simply because they know it's origin.

These are very complex legal issues. If you are talking about bribes, then this is illegal, but this is also part of business in many countries. If an investment company operates officially, and there are no complaints about it to government agencies, then it cannot be criminal.

Yes, bribes are also illegal in my country. But the second would be controversial, because the law firms would only threaten them because they suspect that they carry out illegal activities (if not, the defendants would have nothing to fear), which would make them aware of the nature of the funds they'd receive. But you're right that, for that, the investment companies should be proven to operate illegally.

[TravelMug]

Crypto investment fraud ring dismantled in Spain after defrauding 5 000 victims worldwide

This is a complicated case and is one of the cases of success carried out by law enforcers from Estonia, France and the United States in dismantling the crypto investment fraud network, the comparison of suspects is 5/5000 victims of extraordinary achievement.

I wouldn't say that it is a complicated case, we have Interpol, working together from different countries to accomplished one goal, - that is to dismantle this criminals groups and  so this is one of those.

This operation takes two years to reveal this fraud network, Hong Kong is indeed we know the online mafia country, Many criminal cases and violations of the law occur there, most of the bulging investments, I hope this is the final disclosure case in the world of crypto throughout the world.

I remember 2024, Spain had also banned the exchange of Worldcoin, by law the Spanish government worries Worldcoin about the safety and data of Spaniards who use Worldcoin, Spain is indeed different from other countries, they are not only limited to talking about the law enforced, people are protected and safe in using crypto currencies.

Yeah, it takes time to really gather all the evidences, and then work it out with different authorities from different countries. But the end goal will be the same, and it's good that another one bites the dust again. However, I do believed that there will be more of this criminals groups working around the world and so this job is not yet finished, but just the beginning and hopefully they will succeed in bringing most of the criminal empire around the world.

[zasad@]

That's surprising. When legal companies accept money from criminal projects, isn't that considered money laundering in your country? According to the Spanish laws, those who accept money knowing that it comes from criminal activities become money launderers simply because they know it's origin.

These are very complex legal issues. If you are talking about bribes, then this is illegal, but this is also part of business in many countries. If an investment company operates officially, and there are no complaints about it to government agencies, then it cannot be criminal.

Yes, bribes are also illegal in my country. But the second would be controversial, because the law firms would only threaten them because they suspect that they carry out illegal activities (if not, the defendants would have nothing to fear), which would make them aware of the nature of the funds they'd receive. But you're right that, for that, the investment companies should be proven to operate illegally.

In my country, criminal and civil cases are separated. These are completely different courts. If you have a civil lawsuit, it only affects the company's reputation and wastes a lot of resources. It's like a DOS attack, only in this case, it's not hackers who work, but lawyers In most cases, it's easier to pay a bribe, work quietly for a few months, and then disappear with the money.