Overview
- German-led Operation Chargeback detained 18 suspects tied to three credit‑card subscription fraud networks that created 19 million fake accounts and hit 4.3 million cards across 193 countries.
- Investigators estimate at least €300 million in losses from the card‑fraud schemes, with attempted charges topping €750 million and assets worth more than €35 million seized in Germany and Luxembourg.
- Five executives and compliance staff from four German payment service providers are accused of facilitating illicit processing, while hundreds of shell companies in the UK and Cyprus allegedly masked transactions.
- In a separate Eurojust-coordinated action on October 27–29, police in Cyprus, Spain and Germany arrested nine suspects linked to fake crypto investment platforms that laundered roughly €600 million.
- Searches in the crypto case seized €800,000 in bank funds, €415,000 in cryptocurrencies, €300,000 in cash and luxury watches, as French prosecutors report several hundred victims and continue asset appraisals and tracing.