International fraud ring operated from Cyprus and Israel

A ring of investment fraudsters with victims in more than 50 countries has been operating from Cyprus and Israel, findings presented on Tuesday by Europol showed. Investigators said that the operation followed a four-year investigation and previous interventions in 2022 and 2025, where evidence was gathered that eventually led authorities to a company believed to operate a model for providing criminal services from both countries. During the investigations, Europol identified customers of the company who were running illegal call centres in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia. In the most recent, coordinated operation on November 3, authorities conducted searches at 17 different locations, seizing more than 100 servers and arresting a total of seven suspects, who are set to be extradited to Germany. The operation was led by the Ischgl public prosecutor’s office in Germany and targeted a company believed to have provided deceptive online trading websites to criminal groups. Europol said the company was linked to call centre managers who convinced victims to invest in their savings, with the total amount of losses estimated at €4 million. The system reportedly promised high and fast returns through trading in cryptocurrencies, foreign currencies or stocks. As part of the scam, so-called brokers presented fictitious profits and exerted constant psychological pressure on their victims to convince them to invest more money in what appeared to be legitimate investment platforms. According to Europol, the investigation also revealed that collaborative marketing was used to attract potential victims. This involves misleading advertisements that eventually lead users to investment fraud platforms, with the personal data collected through this process later sold to criminal groups operating call centres. The operators contacted potential victims and presented them with investment opportunities before repeatedly demanding they transfer money. Initially, the victims were asked to transfer a small amount of money, after which fictitious profits were credited to their online accounts, making the platform appear trustworthy and the investment successful. The alleged brokers later used these apparent profits to pressure victims into transferring even larger amounts. In the event that victims requested the withdrawal of their funds, the administrators used delaying tactics to prevent payments before eventually cutting off communication, leaving the victims unable to recover their funds. Europol said investigations into the case were launched in 2022, when a German couple filed a complaint, saying that they could not withdraw the money they had invested through the relevant online trading platform. The first international operation in the same year resulted in two arrests and the seizure of evidence. Analysis carried out with the support of Europol later helped to identify seven other suspects, including ‘call centre operators’. A second operation launched in 2025 led to further arrests and seizures of evidence and money. Part of the recovered material seized during this operation then led to the identification of the infrastructure provider and its connections to the call centre operators. Europol said it had provided analytical and operational support for the investigation. On the day of the operation, it deployed experts to Albania and Kosovo to support the digital forensic investigation and cross-check data directly with its own databases.