Overview
- More than 60 locations were searched across Germany, Italy, Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, the United States and Cyprus, with five of the 18 arrests in Germany.
- Authorities report 4.3 million stolen card records from 193 countries were used between 2016 and 2021 to create over 19 million sham subscriptions, with a further €750 million in attempted charges thwarted.
- The investigation targets 44 suspects, including six former employees of payment firms, on allegations ranging from organized computer fraud to money laundering and membership in a criminal organization.
- Assets worth more than €35 million were secured in Germany and Luxembourg, and officials say victim compensation will hinge on court outcomes as international asset-recovery work continues with over 90 legal-assistance requests.
- Regulators say the fraudulent billing flows were shut down by 2021, and the cross-border case—coordinated by the BKA and Koblenz prosecutors with support from BaFin, Europol and Eurojust—remains active.