An investigation into a company based in Andorra that claimed to provide crypto and forex investment training led to a breakthrough for the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, more commonly referred to as Europol. The breakthrough occurred in conjunction with law enforcement agencies in Spain.
According to the allegations made by local law enforcement and Europol, the company in question was allegedly running a scam that “defrauded thousands of customers.” The inquiry, which included house searches, resulted in the seizure of €70,000 (about $84,876) in fiat money and cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), and OmiseGo, among others (OMG).
At the time this article was published, the plans of the authorities about the assets that were taken were unknown.
According to a news statement issued by Europol, the government agency backed the mobilisation of specialists from both the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre (EFECC) and the European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3). According to the statement that was included in the press release by Europol, the organisation alleged the following:
The company, which had its headquarters in Andorra, specialised in the education of individuals on how to invest in cryptocurrencies and other assets, and it is suspected that it also engaged in trading activities.
It is believed that this con might take place anywhere in the world. As a direct result of the operation that was carried out in the month of January, law enforcement agents were able to successfully apprehend six suspects ranging in age from 20 to 34 years old. During the course of the inquiry, a total of eight automobiles and numerous electronic gadgets were taken into custody.