On 6 October, a prolific scammer was arrested in Tenerife, Spain, by the National Police (PolicÃa Nacional), as a result of a complex investigation involving four countries.
Article continues below
r>
The suspect - a 50 year old Croatian national - is believed to have been running a large-scale, multi-layered investment fraud scheme which siphoned at least EUR 5 million out of unsuspecting investors.
Over 70 German victims have been identified so far.
This arrest follows a complex investigation initiated in December 2019 by the German Police Headquarters Ludwigsburg (Polizeipräsidium Ludwigsburg) with the support of Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre.
The action day has resulted in: the arrest of an individual considered as a high-value target by Europol for his involvement in numerous high-profile cases throughout Europe, and 37 property searches in Germany (18), the Netherlands (12), Spain (4) and Hungary (3).
The investigation uncovered how this criminal would pose as an employee of a real, Geneva-based investment company and would reach out to unsuspecting victims to persuade them to part with their savings, promising lucrative investment companies.
In order to fabricate a sense of legitimacy, the scammer had set-up a ‘spoofed’ website which looked nearly identical to the real company’s website. Investment documents which appeared to have been made by recognisable banks and insurance companies were also provided to prospective victims to trick them.
The investors were instructed to send funds via wire transfer to bank accounts controlled by the criminal.
Once the payments had been made, the scammer would disappear with the money, moving the stolen funds from one jurisdiction to the other to conceal their illegal origin. The investigators were able to track down the stolen funds all the way to Türkiye.
The following authorities took part in this investigation:
• Germany: Police Headquarters Ludwigsburg (Polizeipräsidium Ludwigsburg)
• The Netherlands: National Politie (Politie)
• Spain: National Police (PolicÃa Nacional)
• Hungary: National Police Headquarters Budapest
This investigation was carried out with the financial support of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). ■