Lisbon, Sept. 16, 2025 (Lusa) - A transnational gang dismantled by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on Tuesday, whose alleged hardcore resides in the Algarve, is suspected of having swindled around 5,100 Swedish citizens as of 2023, the PJ said.
At a press conference, the director of Portugal's criminal investigation police agency, PJ's National Unit for Combating Cybercrime and Technological Crime (UNC3T), Carlos Cabreiro, explained that the victims, most of whom were elderly, had been tricked with messages that appeared to be about banking services.
After speaking to fake bank managers, the victims would provide credentials to access their bank accounts and, in some cases, remote access to computers where they could access financial services, allowing the fraudsters to appropriate money.
In total, the organisation is said to have stolen around €14 million.
Portugal's criminal investigation police agency, PJ, announced today in a statement that 64 people had been arrested in connection with this group, a figure that has since been updated to 65.
According to Carlos Cabreiro, among those arrested in operation “Pivot” are three Swedish citizens, all men, who were the hard core of the organisation and dozens of Portuguese and nationals from other countries living in Portugal who would support the group.
These include individuals posing as bank managers, money mules who typically provide accounts to launder illicitly obtained money, and shopkeepers who install automatic payment terminals in their establishments, allowing fraudsters to access the money.
The purchase of "jewellery, watches and vehicles" was another way the group laundered the profits from the scams.
Of the 65 detainees, between 25 and 30 members will be presented to a judge for the application of more serious coercive measures, with the final number depending on the steps being taken by the Public Prosecutor's Office, added the UNC3T director.
In today's operation, 76 bank accounts and 11 crypto-asset wallets were also seized.
Asked if the choice of Portugal as the base for the crime was due to some national vulnerability, Carlos Cabreiro said no.
Johan Sangby, the Swedish police officer who worked most closely with Portugal's criminal investigation police agency, emphasised that Sweden has "many criminals" operating from abroad, with Portugal and Spain being "good countries" to live in and appearing to be "a haven for criminals".
In a statement released today, the PJ stated that the crimes involved were computer-related, qualified as fraud, and involved money laundering.
The series of investigations between the PJ and the Swedish police had the collaboration of Europol and Eurojust, who accompanied the searches carried out today in 73 homes, mainly in the Algarve, Lisbon and the Braga region.
According to the director of UNC3T, the dismantled group was "probably" preparing to target Portuguese citizens in the scams.
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