17 arrested in Greece over cryptocurrency fraud: a pyramid organisation with about $8 million, servicemen among the suspects

Greek police have dismantled a criminal organisation that defrauded cryptocurrency investors through a pyramid scheme, in a broad operation coordinated across several regions of the country in which 17 people were arrested. As Business Daily reports, the operation was carried out by the Katerini Sub-Directorate for the Prosecution and Solving of Crimes (ELAS), while the case file also includes other persons who are still under investigation.

According to ERTnews, nine of those arrested are servicemen, among them two non-commissioned officers with a suspected leading role inside the organisation. The investigation data show that the scheme promised to double capital within 50 days, drawing in at least 10,000 people, while about $8 million had passed through the online platform used by the network.

As adieksodos.gr writes, the organisation’s activity lasted at least since 2025, with offices in Katerini, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Patras and an island of the Dodecanese. Network members received bonuses for recruiting new investors, while at first they created the impression of real profits, before stopping the return of capital to the victims.

During the operation police seized about €300,000, electronic equipment, storage media and documents which, according to investigators, will help fully trace the flow of the money. The Katerini prosecution has brought charges of criminal organisation, fraud and money laundering, while those arrested have been brought before the investigating authorities.