The US government’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Hungarian government’s Rapid Response and Special Police Services National Bureau of Investigation (KR NNI) have successfully apprehended a scammer ring operating out of Győr, Hungary, in a joint operation.
According to the authorities in the two countries, the group of three criminals was selling copper and zinc bars containing only 1 per cent gold, which were presented to buyers as solid gold bullion. A total of 442 of the fraudulent gold bars set to be shipped were seized by law enforcement, which would have amounted to 216 million HUF ($670,000) of damages to the victims.
The contraband was bound for the United States, with the Hungarian State Treasury denoted as the supposed sender.
The scam was allegedly orchestrated by a 20-year-old man in Győr, who recruited a 19-year-old accomplice to operate on online trading platforms while impersonating legitimate gold exchanges such as Goldmac, Emaar Gold, and Emaar Bullion. A third accomplice, aged 25, was responsible for packaging and shipping the counterfeit gold bars.
In a post on its official Facebook page, the US Embassy in Budapest praised the operation, highlighting the successful collaboration between the two countries’ leading investigative agencies. ‘The case clearly demonstrates the power of effective cooperation between the two countries in their fight against crime,’ the Embassy wrote.
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