The products were distributed through hundreds of websites and social media pages. Investigations aimed at dismantling the network were carried out at 113 locations across Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Moldova.

On May 12 and 14, 2026, Greek and European authorities conducted a coordinated pan-European operation to dismantle a criminal organization that defrauded citizens across Europe through fake medicines for serious illnesses and counterfeit dietary supplements.

Greece’s Financial Crimes Unit actively participated in the operation, carrying out investigations at a logistics company in Attica, seizing products, and arresting key members of the group.

How the network operated through social media

The criminal group, active since 2019, operated with a professional hierarchical structure and had established companies through which it marketed more than 400 supplements that had no official authorization for circulation. The products were sold through hundreds of websites and social media pages. To deceive victims, the group used fake doctor names and well-known public figures, creating accounts that appeared legitimate.

Customers who filled out contact forms received phone calls from operators posing as doctors or specialists, claiming that the supplements were genuine medicines for serious or incurable diseases. In reality, all the products contained the same ingredients and had no therapeutic effect. Several victims reportedly stopped their prescribed medical treatments after being misled. Whenever a product attracted too many complaints, it was simply renamed and relaunched, generating illegal profits estimated at €240 million.

The investigation began in Romania

The investigation was initiated by Romanian authorities, who uncovered the group’s international activities. The organization used legitimate businesses in multiple countries to conceal its illegal operations, making international cooperation essential for gathering evidence and testimonies.

As part of the operation, a Joint Investigation Team was established involving Romania, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, and Moldova under the coordination of Eurojust, with coordination meetings held in The Hague. Europol supported the operation through a Virtual Command Post and specialists deployed in the intervention countries.

In total, investigations were carried out at 113 locations in Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Moldova, with the participation of authorities from Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.

ELAS statement on the case

Greece’s Financial Crimes Subdivision of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime participated on May 14, 2026, in the pan-European operation coordinated by Eurojust and Europol to dismantle the criminal group that defrauded victims across Europe through the sale of fake supplements and medicines falsely presented as genuine treatments for serious illnesses.

Police officers from the Social Security Department, assisted by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, conducted searches and collected evidence at a logistics company in the Attica region.

Authorities found that the criminal organization had been operating since 2019 with a hierarchical structure. Its members had founded companies through which they marketed more than 400 supplements lacking the required circulation licenses.

The illegal products were distributed through hundreds of websites and social media pages. To mislead victims—primarily from European Union countries—the group frequently used the names and images of celebrities and fictitious doctors.

During the coordinated day of action, searches were conducted at 113 locations across Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Moldova, resulting in the arrest of key members of the group. Authorities also shut down 196 websites in Romania used to market the products and seized large quantities of illegal supplements, most of them from the organization’s central warehouse in Bulgaria.

Additionally, assets worth €1.8 million were frozen in Poland, while the group’s illegal turnover is estimated at €240 million.

Authorities from Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and Moldova participated in the operation.