During an action day on 10 March, German and French authorities worked together to arrest three suspects. After an arrest warrant was issued, the main suspect, who was located in France, was brought before a judge and is now in custody, pending the forthcoming decision of the Chamber of Instruction, which will decide on his surrender to the German authorities. As a result of searches that took place in both countries during the action day, assets including cryptocurrencies and jewellery were seized. A European Investigation Order that was coordinated through Eurojust enabled searches in France.

The criminal group allegedly used phishing emails to gain access to login credentials for online banking and mobile phones. They were also able to circumvent additional verification steps necessary to transfer and withdraw funds from their victims’ accounts. Once the funds were obtained, they would be transferred to fake cryptocurrency accounts and further concealed.

Extensive evidence that was collected during the action day will now be further analysed as investigations into the online fraud scheme continue.

The actions were carried out by the following authorities:

• France: Court of Appeal and Judicial Court Dijon – National Police Cybercrime Unit (OFAC)
• Germany: Hechingen Public Prosecutor's Office; Criminal Investigation Department of the Reutlingen Police Headquarters