On Friday (December 16), Spanish police announced that a key figure in Spain, Pablo AM, 33, was arrested at Barcelona airport on the 14th in connection with an international cryptocurrency scam that is said to have defrauded tens of thousands of investors out of billions of euros. The arrested person is also one of the heads of EverFX, a registered broker in Cyprus.

The man was said to have been on a flight from Romania to Barcelona. As soon as the suspect's plane landed, police entered and arrested him.

Meanwhile, a month before Pablo AM's arrest, European authorities shut down 15 of the network's call centers in Albania, Georgia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and North Macedonia in a coordinated action. In raids carried out on November 8-9, police and prosecutors from Germany, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and six other European countries arrested five suspects and seized thousands of euros worth of cash, among other things.

According to an investigation by the European Union Agency for Cooperation in Criminal Justice (ECJ), criminals pose as brokers to convince investors that they can make high profits by investing small amounts in cryptocurrencies. The suspects defrauded victims by posing as professionals at call centers or engaging in "other forms of so-called social activities." The European Prosecution Office believes that fraudsters persuade victims to invest in online platforms controlled by criminal organizations. EverFX, a popular exchange in Spain, is one of these platforms.

Spanish authorities believe more than 17,000 people in the country fell victim to the scam.

EverFX was suspended by the UK's FCA last year

EverFX is the trading brand name of ICC Intercertus Capital Limited. ICC is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), License No. 301/16; It is also regulated by the Cayman CIMA, regulatory number 1444866. But it is not authorized by Spain's National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

In May last year, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority, the FCA, banned Cyprus-based EverFX operator ICC Intercertus Capital Limited from offering CFDS instruments in the country. The FCA said at the time that EverFX was recruiting a number of British traders to its overseas entities, which were not authorized to offer services in the UK.

"Many consumers were subsequently induced to transact with overseas members of the EverFX Group, which did not have the authority to provide regulated services in the UK, meaning consumers lacked the same level of protection," the FCA explained.

However, Intercertus ICC, the company that owns the EverFX brand, recently told Spanish media that it was unaware of the investigation into EverFX. And the company has changed its name and been acquired by another group. The websites everfx.com, everfxglobal.com, global.everfx.com and intercertus.com have been added to the list of fraudulent websites implemented and published by Mossos d'Esquadra.

On the other hand, EverFX has also been active in sports sponsorship, sponsoring Spanish football giants Sevilla FC and even extending its contract.