In the Netherlands and Spain, three men and one woman were arrested on Tuesday due to their involvement in the global distribution of Sky ECC cryptophones. Real estate and 1.4 million in cryptocurrency have also been seized.
These are two men aged 36 and 37 from Amsterdam and Arnhem, who were arrested in Ibiza and Alicante. The third main suspect is a 37-year-old man from Amsterdam. The three are suspected of forming a criminal organization with the aim of laundering crime money. A 36-year-old woman was also arrested in Amsterdam, who presumably worked for this criminal organization.
The suspect arrested in Ibiza has been involved since 2017 as a shareholder and director of several legal entities in the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Canada under the umbrella of SKY Global Inc, directly involved in the distribution of the encrypted phones and associated software. These cryptophones were predominantly used by internationally operating criminals and their organizations. The encrypted messaging service was known in the criminal milieu as a safe, unhackable communication platform.
The man arrested in Alicante is suspected of having independently continued working for Sky Global since December 2019 and was responsible for the sale and distribution of Sky phones in the Netherlands. The entire customer portfolio was sold and transferred to Sky Global around that time by the other suspects. The 37-year-old suspect worked directly for Sky Global and was linked to the resellers in the Netherlands with the username Sky111. The three men were likely in direct contact with the CEO of Sky ECC for many years.
Criminal Investigation
The investigation into the distributors of the cryptophones is being conducted by a combined team of investigators from the FIOD, the National Unit for Detection and Interventions, and the Amsterdam Unit of the National Police. The investigation is supervised and led by public prosecutors from the National Office, the Amsterdam Office, and the Functional Office of the Public Prosecution Service (OM). The arrests in Spain were made thanks to the efforts of the Policia Nacional, UDYCO Central.
Offline
The criminal communication network Sky ECC was taken offline in 2021 as part of a large-scale international investigation by France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. This occurred after police and judicial services had been able to live monitor the criminal messaging traffic for weeks. The investigative services succeeded in gaining access to hundreds of millions of messages from users of Sky ECC phones.
Criminal investigations into the decrypted messages and criminal Sky users have led in the Netherlands to hundreds of criminal cases due to international drug and arms trafficking, corruption, money laundering, liquidations, and other (violent) forms of organized crime. Sky devices were highly favored in the criminal milieu because users were guaranteed anonymity, thereby circumventing law enforcement. The devices could be completely wiped remotely.
Facilitated
By selling Sky cryptophones, software, and SIM cards, the suspects allegedly facilitated organized international crime. The investigation began in 2019. It was suspected that the distributors of the cryptophones acquired large sums of money and should have suspected that the money was of criminal origin. Cryptophones are virtually only used within the criminal circuit.
The Dutch suspects are believed to have been responsible for the distribution and management of about a quarter of the Sky subscriptions worldwide. The revenue generated amounted to 13.8 million euros, of which nearly 6.8 million euros was profit. The suspects maintained contact with resellers and agents who sold the cryptophones and subscriptions of 600 euros every three months. The distributors likely placed a large portion of their profits in crypto wallets and invested in real estate, including a holiday park.
It is expected that the suspects arrested in Spain will be transferred to the Netherlands in the near future. The suspects arrested in the Netherlands were released after questioning on Thursday. They remain suspects but may await the continuation of the criminal case in freedom.