Maltese investigators were among the law-enforcement teams that helped take down a Europe-wide crypto-fraud network, after tracing nearly €494,000 lost by four Maltese victims to sophisticated fake investment platforms.

In a statement Thursday, the police said that an international operation coordinated by Europol, with the involvement of the Maltese Police, has successfully dismantled fraud and money-laundering networks amounting to more than €700 million.

This operation marked the culmination of years of investigations aiming to break up a criminal ring operating across Europe and beyond, it said.

It said that the criminal network was running multiple fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms, attracting thousands of victims through sophisticated advertisements promising high returns.

Victims were then repeatedly contacted by phone, where callers pressured them to make continuous payments while showing inflated profits on fake commercial platforms.

The involvement of the Maltese Police, through the Blockchain Analysis Unit (BAU), led to the identification of four cases related to investment fraud, in which four Maltese victims collectively lost a total of €493,750.

The statement said that the fraud involved deception through online investments using different platforms, where victims were tricked by fake financial advisors, instructed to use remote-access tools, and asked to provide personal documents.

The funds were transferred through traditional banks, credit cards, and cryptocurrency, it said.

In connection with this operation, coordinated police raids took place last October across Cyprus, Germany and Spain, following requests from French and Belgian authorities.

The statement said that these initial actions led to the arrest of nine individuals suspected of laundering illicit funds generated by the fake cryptocurrency platforms.

Alongside the Maltese Police, authorities from Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Israel and Spain also took part in this Europol operation.