A criminal network running online investment fraud call centres in Tirana, Albania, was dismantled in a joint Austrian and Albanian investigation supported by Europol and Eurojust, with ten people arrested and nearly EUR 900,000 seized during coordinated raids on 17 April 2026.
KEY FACTS
- Arrests Ten people were detained in Tirana.
- Seizures Police took EUR 891,735 in cash, 443 computers and 238 mobile phones.
- Scope The scheme is believed to have caused at least EUR 50 million in losses.
- Targets Victims were identified across Europe and in Canada and the United Kingdom.
A Europol news release said the network operated several professionally organised call centres that mimicked legitimate businesses, with teams working by language and by role. The structure included customer acquisition, customer service, management, finance, IT and human resources.
Victims were drawn in through social media ads and web searches and were then pushed by so-called retention agents posing as investment advisers. The report says the fraudsters used remote access software to take control of devices, pressure victims to keep investing and move the money into an international laundering scheme.
The investigation began after Austrian authorities identified a large number of victims in Vienna in June 2023. In April 2024, Austrian investigators used Europol to ask Albanian authorities for information about a suspected IP address, which led to a criminal investigation in Albania and then a joint investigation team.
During the action day, police searched three call centres and nine homes. The report says the operation also led to the seizure of 6 laptops and various data carriers, while specialists used a virtual command post to support data sharing and evidence collection.
WHY IT MATTERS
The case shows how cross-border cooperation can disrupt large fraud networks that rely on online advertising, remote access tools and multilingual call centres. The seized devices and data may help investigators identify additional victims and links to other countries.