18 arrested in €300 million global credit card fraud scheme
A coordinated international operation has led to 18 arrests in a massive credit card fraud case worth at least €300 million. The effort, led by Eurojust, targeted a network of suspects accused of running fake online subscription services for dating, pornography, and streaming sites. Among those detained were five executives from four German payment service providers.
Authorities said the fraud affected several million credit card users across 193 countries and involved 19 million accounts. Investigators estimate that attempted fraud totaled more than €750 million. The arrested individuals include citizens of Germany, the United Kingdom, Latvia, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, the United States, and Canada.
Small payments hid years of fraud
Between 2016 and 2021, the suspects allegedly stole credit card data, created fake accounts, and used the stolen information to authorize and conceal payments. They kept charges below €50 to avoid alerting victims to suspicious activity. Payments appeared under vague descriptions and were linked to websites that could not be found through search engines, making them accessible only via direct URLs.
Payment providers tied to laundering network
Eurojust said that four payment service providers were used to process and launder the proceeds. Five employees of those firms, including executives and compliance officers, are suspected of helping the fraud groups exploit financial infrastructure in exchange for fees.
The suspects also set up shell companies in Cyprus and the United Kingdom to hide transactions and make it difficult for victims to recover funds. Many of these companies were obtained through “Crime-as-a-Service” vendors that sell illicit business infrastructure to criminal groups.
Luxembourg and U.S. authorities joined the probe
The investigation began in Luxembourg, where authorities opened a case into money laundering and misuse of company assets. The probe drew on reports from the Luxembourg Financial Intelligence Unit, and police there searched company offices, questioned suspects, and seized assets worth several million euros.
Because key suspects were German citizens and payment service employees, Luxembourg handed the case to prosecutors in Koblenz, Germany. The two countries merged their investigations, with Luxembourg providing evidence and legal support.
German prosecutors also worked closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which provided evidence through legal assistance requests. That cooperation helped uncover the scale of the fraud and identify additional suspects, leading to this week’s arrests.