Six Austrians have been arrested in a coordinated operation across Austria, Cyprus, and Czechia for an online cryptocurrency scam.
The investigation, supported by Europol and Eurojust, targeted a fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO) launched in December 2017.
Authorities seized over €500,000 in cryptocurrency, €250,000 in fiat currency, two cars, and a luxury property worth €1.4 million. Bank accounts have also been frozen.
The scammers posed as a legitimate trading company offering a new cryptocurrency. Investors were lured into purchasing tokens with established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The suspects defrauded investors before disappearing in February 2018, an action known as an “exit scam.”
Europol and Eurojust facilitated the arrests, with Europol providing analytical support and deploying an on-site specialist to Cyprus.
Eurojust set up a coordination centre for real-time communication among participating authorities.
