site.btaPolice Bust Organized Crime Group Running Fraudulent Online Investment Platforms

A large-scale operation targeting the illegal activities of an organized crime group running several call centres in Sofia was carried out on December 11, 2025, the prosecution office reported here on Friday.

The operation, led and supervised by the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office (SCPO), involved officers from the SCPO’s investigative department, the National Investigation Service, the State Agency for National Security (SANS), the General Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime, the General Directorate National Polic, as well as Spain’s Guardia Civil.

The organized crime group engaged in fraudulent investment activities and “social engineering” schemes. It included both Bulgarian and foreign nationals.

The investigation established that since mid-2022, call centres operated in Sofia under the group’s control, linked to fraudulent online platforms - multiple websites used to attract clients and deceive them into investing money in fictitious trading with regulated financial instruments, promising high returns. The crime ring caused significant financial losses to citizens of EU member states.

During the investigation, coordinated checks, searches, seizures, personal inspections, and witness interviews were conducted to shut down the structures involved in large-scale schemes for deception and unlawful extraction of funds from victims abroad.

The operation resulted in the seizure of more than 20 mobile phones, numerous SIM cards, over 30 USB flash drives, personal computers, hard drives, notebooks, handwritten notes, lists of employees, narcotics, 17 investment gold bars (each worth about BGN 7,000), more than BGN 45,000 in cash, and five hardware crypto wallets - one of which contained cryptoassets worth over USD 230,000. The seizures were carried out with the assistance of the National Investigation Service’s Cybercrime Department.

The operation was conducted in close international cooperation with Spain’s Guardia Civil. Joint teams worked under the direction of Bulgarian authorities and within the framework of EU police cooperation mechanisms.