Multiple agencies are closing in on a crypto fraud scam that had a value in the millions of euros.
Eurojust, the EU agency for criminal justice cooperation, collaborated with law enforcement in three member states to stop a cryptocurrency scam reportedly operating out of Austria that saw victims lose millions of euros.
Eurojust characterized the scheme’s active period from December 2017 to February 2018 as an exit scam. During this period, criminals used a fake business website to trick people into purchasing a questionable cryptocurrency that was promoted as a freshly released digital asset.
The con artists from Austria “exited” the scam in February 2018, so they went black by removing all traces of their online presence, including social media profiles and the website for the fake business.
“Investors knew they had been ripped off by this so-called exit scam. About 6 million euros went down the drain. Currently, Eurojust has not been able to identify all victims of the scam.”
The police then began a massive quest for the con artists, which culminated on May 8 with the arrest of six individuals and the taking of two automobiles 750,000 euros in assets and 1.4 million euros in property.
Europol, the Cyprus Police, the National Organised Crime Agency of the Czech Republic, and the Central Public Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption of Austria were among the several agencies cited in the announcement as having worked together to carry out the search and seizure.
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