Romanian police raid international gang that sold nonexistent cars online, seizing gold bars and a lethal weapon

The criminal enterprise

Romanian police, with support from German counterparts and EU agencies Eurojust and Europol, carried out 12 home search warrants on 7 July 2026 in Râmnicu Vâlcea. The operation targeted an organised crime group formed in the autumn of 2025 that ran a sophisticated cross-border fraud scheme focused on fictitious car sales.

How the scam worked

Members gained unauthorised access to user accounts of German companies on a well-known online platform. From September 2025 to April 2026, they took over at least 422 merchant accounts and published more than 5,000 false advertisements, mainly for cars that did not exist. Victims would transfer money for the vehicles, after which the funds were routed through a network of about 110 bank accounts opened in Romania, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Money trail and victims

The group controlled financial flows by having associates provide bank accounts, then quickly moved incoming payments to other controlled accounts or withdrew cash from ATMs. So far, 30 victims have been identified, losing over €800,000. The overall damage uncovered during the seven-month period (October 2025 to April 2026) is at least €1,351,000.

What the raids uncovered

During the searches, police seized approximately 200 data storage devices, €60,000 in cash, 38,000 Romanian lei, gold bars and gold coins, a falsified identity document, various documents, and a lethal weapon. The suspects face charges of fraud with particularly serious consequences, computer forgery, unauthorised system access, computer fraud, and money laundering.

The timeline of the investigation