Greek authorities have arrested 17 people across the country in connection with an alleged criminal organization accused of defrauding investors with promises of doubling their money in just 50 days through cryptocurrency investments.
According to police, the suspects approached potential investors with offers of exceptionally high returns, presenting cryptocurrency as a lucrative opportunity.
Authorities say the operation functioned along pyramid-scheme lines, encouraging participants to recruit new investors in exchange for the promise of higher payouts.
Nine additional individuals named in the case file have not been arrested.
Among those detained are reportedly members of Greece's armed forces, though authorities have not disclosed details of their alleged roles in the scheme.
The 17 suspects appeared before a prosecutor in the north-central city of Katerini and were subsequently referred to investigating magistrates to give testimony.
The case adds to a string of cryptocurrency investment fraud busts in Greece this year. In March, police arrested 12 people in coordinated raids across Crete, Attica and Igoumenitsa in a separate scheme that authorities said netted more than €14 million through a similar Ponzi-style structure, in which members were trained at so-called "academies" to recruit new participants. Investigators in that case also found links to offshore companies in Bulgaria.
Greek financial crime officials have repeatedly warned that low public understanding of cryptocurrency markets, combined with the sector's rapid growth, has made Greek investors increasingly vulnerable to fraudulent schemes promising unrealistic returns.