Cybercrime Southeast Europe Newsletter No. 9

Cybercrime Southeast Europe

Dear clients,

Last week, we commended the work of Serbian judicial authorities as part of joint efforts to combat cybercrime, emphasizing the importance of their actions in combating financial fraud on the internet. This time, we will delve into the details of this action.

Europol announced on January 12, 2023, that the police and judicial authorities of Serbia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Germany, with the support of Europol and Eurojust, have launched an investigation against organized criminal groups involved in online fraud related to cryptocurrency investments. The entire case is currently in the investigative phase.

The focus of the investigation is on the companies ASGARD and Olympus Prime, both based in Belgrade, suspected to be interconnected, as well as two lesser-known companies, MAN Marketing and NPD Partner, operating in Serbia in recent years.

It is suspected that there are over 127,000 victims worldwide, specifically those who at some point deposited funds for investment through fraudulent platforms. Deposits ranged from a few hundred to over a million dollars or euros. The financial damage is estimated at 7 billion dollars.

During January 2023, the legal representative and the main manager of the ASGARD company were arrested and detained, as well as two team leaders in the Olympus Prime company and three of its most successful agents. In February 2023, the team leader and fifteen agents of the Olympus Prime company were arrested. In addition to the arrests in Serbia, one person was arrested in Germany in January 2023, as stated in Europol’s press release dated January 12, 2023. Searches were conducted at two addresses in Cyprus, and two individuals were interviewed. In Bulgaria, 42 individuals were interviewed, and searches were carried out at 5 addresses.

The criminal network operated through call centers, luring victims into investing large sums of money into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. The scam starts with an advertisement on social media designed to attract victims. It promotes trading various financial products from cryptocurrencies to stocks. Clicking on the advertisement leads to a website. When victims from social media reach the website, they are prompted to register as users, during which a considerable amount of personal data is requested.

The fraudulent investment scheme was designed to lure clients, mainly citizens from Western Europe and Australia, to invest in cryptocurrencies, with investments made through fake platforms simulating market movements. Those who invest money get the impression that they are purchasing cryptocurrencies and earning money based on advice from agents of the mentioned companies. Currently, over 80 different fraudulent investment platforms used by ASGARD and Olympus Prime have been identified.

We hope that judicial authorities will continue to effectively work on such cases to protect citizens and keep the internet space safe for everyone. Additionally, we believe that our cases will be resolved in the same efficient manner.

Zoran Miljaković, Attorney