Bulgarian Authorities Dismantle International Online Fraud Ring: A Cooperative Effort with Europol and Eurojust

Background

Bulgarian authorities dismantled an international online investment fraud network operating from Bulgaria in cooperation with Europol and Eurojust.
The fraudulent network defrauded mainly German and Greek investors of over €10 million.

Bulgarian law enforcement authorities, with Europol and Eurojust’s support, arrested one suspect and conducted searches at 24 locations in Sofia and Burgas.

The fraudsters used bogus websites and call centers, which contacted potential investors with promises of significant profits.
They contacted victims using languages such as German, Greek, English, and Spanish.
Hundreds of victims lost all their money by investing substantially.

Europol provided real-time operational analysis, technical expertise, and facilitated the exchange of information.
Eurojust coordinated the joint action day and offered cross-border judicial support.

Bulgarian authorities began investigating the scam in 2019 and established a JIT involving Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Serbia, and Europol.

Similar modus operandi was used in another case in 2020, leading to the dismantling of two other call centers.

Bulgaria: Economic Crime Department, General Directorate National Police; National State Security Authority; and Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, Burgas.
Germany: Criminal Investigation Department Bayreuth, Federal Criminal Police Office, Wiesbaden.
Greece: Cybercrime Division of the Hellenic Police.
Serbia: Criminal Police Directorate, Service for Combating Organized Crime, Department for Cyber Crime.

Bulgaria: Specialised Prosecution Office of Sofia.
Germany: Office of the Public Prosecutor General of Bamberg; Bavarian Central Office for Prosecution of Cybercrime.
Greece: General Prosecutor’s Office of the Supreme Court; Special Investigative Judge for Mutual Legal Assistance in criminal matters at the Court of First Instance of Athens; the competent Investigative Judge of the Court of First Instance of Athens; the competent Investigative Judge of the Court of First Instance of Thessaloniki.
Republic Public Prosecution Office and Special Prosecution Office for High-Tech Crime of Serbia.

This operation was carried out as part of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) to combat fraud, economic, and financial crimes.