Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 6, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
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US arrests 5 in a German-led online fraud probe involving payment providers and credit card theft across 193 countries.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The United States has arrested five individuals at Germany's request in a German-led internationally coordinated investigation of online fraud and money laundering networks that used payment service providers, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The individuals - four U.S. citizens and one Canadian - were arrested in California and made their first appearance in court on Wednesday.
"The United States located and arrested the fugitives in the Central District of California for ultimate extradition to Germany," the DOJ said in a statement on Wednesday.
German officials said on Wednesday that 18 people had been arrested earlier this week in searches from Singapore to Canada.
A total of 44 suspects, including six former employees of large German payment service providers, are believed to have taken part in the scheme, which involved stealing the credit card details of some 4.3 million people across 193 countries, German police and prosecutors have said.
"The operators of the network then colluded with German payment service processors - including their executives and compliance officers - to process these payments," the DOJ said in its statement.
(Reporting by Tom Sims, Editing by Miranda Murray)
Online fraud refers to any deceptive activity conducted over the internet, typically involving financial transactions, where individuals or organizations are misled for financial gain.
Money laundering is the process of making illegally obtained money appear legitimate, often through a series of transactions that disguise its illegal origins.
Financial crime encompasses a range of illegal activities that result in financial loss, including fraud, money laundering, and embezzlement.
Compliance in finance refers to the adherence to laws, regulations, and guidelines governing financial practices to prevent fraud and ensure ethical conduct.
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