The Tirana Prosecutor's Office has revealed details from the operation targeting several call centers in the capital. A total of 9 security measures have been imposed, including 7 arrests with imprisonment, while two individuals face travel bans and mandatory reporting to judicial police. The Prosecutor's Office also highlights that during the operation, 5 individuals were caught in the act within the premises where the illegal activity was being conducted.
They defrauded EU citizens through call centers, promising recovery of money lost in investments and investment in fake stock exchanges. The two-year investigation by the Tirana Prosecutor's Office uncovered the scheme.
Under the direction of the Prosecutor's Office at the Tirana First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction, in cooperation with Austrian authorities, with the support of Eurojust, EUROPOL, and the Cybercrime Investigation Directorate of the State Police, it became possible to strike several call centers in Tirana. This led to the imposition of security measures: 'Arrest with imprisonment' for 7 individuals, 'Travel ban' and 'Mandatory reporting to judicial police' for 2 citizens, and the arrest of 5 individuals caught in the act while conducting the illegal activity.
Following the two-year investigation into criminal case no. 3377 for the criminal offense of "Computer Fraud," as defined by Article 143/b, paragraph II of the Penal Code, against citizens E.D., M.H., T.A., L.T., Xh.M., M.L., Xh.H., A.B., L.C., K.D., E.H., E.T., B.B., K.B., K.Sh., and A.K., it was found that, based on information received from Austrian authorities, these citizens defrauded various citizens of European Union countries through call center activities, causing them significant financial losses.
These individuals, collaborating with each other, were divided into different groups based on languages (German, English, Italian) and targeted specific international markets. Each group consisted of 6-8 agents and was overseen by a supervisor who monitored them. The work of individuals who spoke Italian involved making calls to Italian citizens, offering them a money recovery service for funds they had lost in previous 'online trading' investments. If the individuals were interested, they were then instructed to open an account on "Coinbase" with an initial deposit of 500 Euros. The operators' task was solely to convince clients to make the initial 500 Euro payment, and their monthly salary was around 800 euros, part of which they received in cash and the rest in the bank. Each employee had a username and operated under pseudonyms.
These call centers operated with a high level of organization, clear division of tasks, and hierarchical control, resembling the structures of legitimate businesses. This professional organization enabled large-scale, cross-border fraud, and it is suspected that they committed fraud involving large sums in Vienna and other cities in Austria from the period of June 15, 2023, to July 30, 2024.
The aforementioned individuals are suspected of inducing the victimized citizens, through the presentation of false circumstances, to believe that the transferred sums would be genuinely invested. As a result of these illegal actions, the perpetrators unjustly benefited, for themselves or for third-party accounts, as the victims, due to the fraud, transferred considerable sums of money, which in total are estimated to exceed the amount of 50 million euros.
Victims typically entered these fraudulent platforms through a fake advertisement featuring a famous personality. The Prosecutor's Office identified that citizens T.A. and M.H., during 2024, received significant amounts at crypto addresses and then transferred them to other crypto addresses. These two citizens are the ultimate beneficiaries of the cryptocurrencies from these call centers.
The joint investigative team established in September 2025 between the Prosecutor's Office at the Tirana First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction and the Vienna Prosecutor's Office managed to document the transactions carried out to the detriment of the affected Austrian citizens. The investigations revealed that the entities "IOTA Network," "Victory Communication," "Espiron Studio," "Zeta Studio," "Upstream creative," and "Koppa Network" are interconnected through the phone numbers left at the QKB, email addresses, and business activity addresses, and are largely suspected to be fictitious and to have operated as call centers. Investigations continue to identify other individuals involved in these fraudulent schemes.
At the request of the Prosecutor's Office at the Tirana First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction, during checks at the aforementioned entities, the following were seized: