The law enforcement agencies in Spain and Europe have apprehended six suspects in the course of an investigation on a purported cryptocurrency investment fraud taking place out of Spain.
Europol, an agency that operates throughout Europe has partnered with Catalan and Spanish police and incarcerated the suspects during an organized ambush on an Androrran investment training company.
Believed to be working simply as a digital currency fraud, the firm is said to have used the disguise of offering cryptocurrency and forex investment training markets to draw attention away from its purported crimes. Europe says that the ages of all the suspects ranged between 20 and 34 and the local police in Spain has detained them awaiting charges.
In the course of the raid, authorities stormed two homes and retrieved €70,000 (about $84,000). The money was shared between ETH, XRP and BTC and part of it was retained on the premises in fiat cash.
Together with the digital currency and the money, authorities also retrieved several electronic devices and eight cars believed to be the group’s.
According to a report from Europe about the occurrence, authorities said that ‘the arrested suspects are believed to have stolen from a significant number of clients through an investment trading firm. The scheme, which was believed to have been taking place worldwide might have been in operation for some time. There are ongoing investigations into the scheme and the people responsible for it.
The case presents the newest illustration of a sophisticated digital currency based scam, undoubtedly motivated by the rumors trending in recent months that has greatly elevated the markets. The fraud represents a caution to other innocent investors to take care where digital currency investment schemes are concerned and to be careful about any investment that claims to give significant profits in a short time.
Law enforcement authorities now plan to recover any money recognized as linked to the fraud as investigations go on.