Europol and the German police have broken up a worldwide credit card fraud and money laundering network worth €300 million in "Operation Chargeback"

On 4 November 2025, an international coordinated action day targeted three major fraud and money laundering networks as part of Operation “Chargeback.”

Led by the Cybercrime Department (Landeszentralstelle Cybercrime) of the General Prosecutor’s Office (Generalstaatsanwaltschaft) in Koblenz, Germany, and the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), the operation has been investigating these networks since December 2020. More than 60 house searches were conducted and a total of 18 arrest warrants executed. The criminal networks are suspected of misusing credit card data from over 4.3 million cardholders across 193 countries. In total, the estimated damage from the fraud scheme exceeds EUR 300 million, with attempted damages amounting to over EUR 750 million.

Europol supported this investigation, which targeted 44 suspects from Germany and other countries. Among the suspects are individuals allegedly involved in the fraud networks, executives from German payment service providers, intermediaries, crime-as-a-service providers who supplied shell companies, and an independent risk manager.

In Germany alone, investigators searched 29 premises across several Federal States and executed five arrest warrants. Over 250 officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office, the Public Prosecutor General’s Office in Koblenz, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), and the tax investigation unit were involved. As part of the investigation, assets worth over EUR 35 million were secured in Luxembourg and Germany.

Modus operandi in this alleged fraud scheme

Jurgen Klopp opens door to becoming Germany manager after Liverpool struggles

Between 2016 and 2021, the suspects allegedly used stolen credit card data to create around 19 million fake online subscriptions on professionally operated websites, primarily offering pornography, dating, and streaming services. These websites were designed to evade search engine indexing, making them accessible only through direct URLs or links. The charges on credit cards were kept low, around EUR 50 per month, with obscure descriptions, making it difficult for cardholders to identify unauthorized transactions.

Involvement of payment service providers

The suspects allegedly exploited the infrastructure of four major German payment service providers to process and launder the illicit transactions. Six suspects, including executives and compliance officers, are accused of colluding with the fraud networks, enabling them to access the payment infrastructure in exchange for fees.

Money laundering and shell companies

To conceal their activities, the suspects used numerous shell companies, primarily registered in the UK and Cyprus. These companies were used to distribute the fraudulent transactions, minimizing the risk of chargebacks and detection. The shell companies were obtained through crime-as-a-service providers, who supplied complete corporate structures, including fake directors and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) documents.

International cooperation

On the action day on 4 November 2025, coordinated measures were taken in Germany, the USA, Canada, Singapore, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands, with support from Europol and Eurojust. Numerous search warrants were executed, leading to the seizure of documents, data carriers, and communication devices. Arrest warrants were also served, and significant assets were frozen.

The action day followed extensive investigations, both nationally and internationally, involving over 90 legal assistance requests to 30 countries. The success of the operation is attributed to the close cooperation with authorities in the USA, Canada, Singapore, the UK, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Cyprus, and Spain, as well as the coordination efforts of Eurojust and Europol.