Polish Crypto Raid: FBI-Backed Arrests Hit Alleged SIM-Swap Gang Behind Millions in Theft

Poland’s Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime (CBZC) arrested four members of an alleged crypto crime gang. The group drained cryptocurrency through SIM swap attacks, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations revealed.

The suspects face charges that include running an organized criminal group, theft by hacking computer systems, and money laundering. All four remain in pre-trial detention and could face up to 25 years in prison.

How the Crypto Crime Gang Ran its SIM Swap Scheme

Investigators say the group broke into the IT systems of firms that work with telecom operators. Social engineering, rather than brute-force hacking, gave the attackers their initial foothold. They also obtained access to employee email accounts using specialized software.

That access let them run SIM swap attacks, which clone or hijack a victim’s phone number. With control over SMS and email, the group reset passwords, bypassed two-factor protections, and seized accounts on cryptocurrency exchanges.

Once inside, they drained the digital assets held in those accounts. The method exploits a known weakness, since many platforms still lean on phone-based recovery despite repeated telecom security failures.

The FBI counted more than $68 million in U.S. SIM-swap losses in 2021, taken from bank and virtual currency accounts.

Laundering and Cross-Border Cooperation

Police say the stolen funds moved quickly through a spread-out financial network. Prosecutors add that the suspects treated the thefts as a steady source of income. The group used personal bank accounts in Poland and abroad, payment platforms, and multi-currency crypto wallets.

Officials estimate the laundered total exceeds tens of millions of Polish zlotys, or several million dollars. The scale places it alongside other European crypto laundering networks disrupted this year.

U.S. prosecutors have pursued similar crews. Federal indictments describe the same playbook against cryptocurrency exchanges. One of the largest involved roughly $400 million stolen from the failed exchange FTX in 2022.

The Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Krakow supervises the case. The role of the FBI and HSI points to victims or infrastructure outside Poland. Such international crypto crime cases increasingly depend on cooperation across borders, echoing earlier FBI SIM swap arrests.

The CBZC, formed in 2022, has not named any suspect or released identifying photos, citing the active investigation. It did publish video of the operation on its official channels.

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Unverified social media speculation has linked one detainee to a known online alias, “Merry.”

Police have not confirmed the claim. Officials say the case is still developing, and more arrests could follow as the inquiry continues.

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