Police in Germany and Cyprus conducted dozens of raids, arresting four men in connection with an alleged investment fraud scheme totalling €10 million ($11 million), the Bavarian cybercrime agency reported on Thursday.
The men, aged 26 to 39, are accused of defrauding investors by failing to invest entrusted funds as agreed. They face charges of organized commercial fraud through cyber-trading.
According to the cybercrime agency, cyber-trading fraud has become frequent. Criminals posing as financial experts offer ostensibly lucrative investment deals, often linked to cryptocurrencies.
The funds are not invested as promised, while the victims are fooled by means of fake online platforms and induced to make further payments.
The group currently under investigation are alleged to have operated at least 13 fake trading platforms since August 2022, including Halder-Bay, Advancia, Avanchie, Bitdach and Wega-Bay.
Some 170 people in Germany have thus far laid charges, according to the cybercrime agency.
The police raids focused on addresses in Berlin and Limassol in Cyprus and were coordinated by Eurojust, the European Union criminal justice agency with support from Europol, the EU police agency.
One German investor is reported to have lost €3 million, the largest amount among the victims. The cybercrime agency said that the complexity of the case meant that investigations would take considerable time.
