The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has been conducting criminal proceedings into allegations of computer fraud (Article 147 paragraphs 1 and 2 Swiss Criminal Code) since May 2017. An internationally active group is suspected of obtaining and unlawfully using e-banking data by means of spam emails and telephone calls, a process known as voice phishing. The victims include customers of financial institutions in Switzerland.

Thanks to mutual assistance provided by the Dutch authorities, the suspected perpetrators were identified and their operating base located in the Rotterdam area. On 17 July 2018, in an operation in the Netherlands carried out with the support of the Dutch law enforcement authorities, the Federal Office of Police fedpol and coordinated by Eurojust, two persons were arrested and house searches were carried out. At the OAG’s request, the Federal Office of Justice has requested the Dutch authorities for the extradition of the detained person, who is suspected of being responsible for the phishing calls in Switzerland. The other person faces criminal proceedings in the Netherlands. The OAG wishes to stress that the presumption of innocence applies to all the persons concerned.

International cybercrime requires national prosecution authorities, which normally operate within their territorial boundaries, to take new approaches, such as cross-border cooperation. As this successful operation in the Netherlands shows, law enforcement in the field of cybercrime must be tackled at a global level.

Coordinated operation in a cybercrime case