Netherlands and Spain Arrest People Suspected of Supplying Encrypted ‘Sky’ Phones to Criminals

Authorities in Spain and the Netherlands arrested four suspects who allegedly distributed encrypted Sky ECC phones used by criminals across the world, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service said Friday.

The group is suspected of distributing and managing a quarter of Sky ECC’s worldwide subscriptions, granting users access to its supposedly impenetrable messaging system. 

“The encrypted messaging service was known in the criminal environment as a secure, unhackable communication platform,” Dutch prosecutors said in a statement. 

In 2021, a joint force of European law enforcement agencies, led by Belgian, Dutch and French investigators, managed to crack Sky ECC by tapping into its servers. They were able to see messages being exchanged in real time — including incriminating evidence of crimes like drug trafficking and murder.

The evidence has led to hundreds of charges in multiple countries

Among the latest arrests was a 37-year-old man from Amsterdam who allegedly worked directly for Sky Global Inc., the company that developed the encrypted messaging service, under the username Sky111. 

In October, OCCRP reported that a Sky Global employee working as Sky111 was in direct contact with Saša Vasilijević, a reseller for the company who French investigators concluded was “affiliated with the Serbian mafia”. 

Vasilijević has denied any ties to illegal activity and has no criminal record.

Dutch prosecutors alleged that the new suspects deliberately enabled organized crime, while pulling in profits of 6.8-million euros ($7 million) through resellers and agents who sold Sky ECC subscriptions at a price of 600 euros ($625) per three months.

Authorities in the Netherlands said they seized real estate, as well as 1.4-million ($1.5 million) worth of cryptocurrency from the suspects.

Spanish authorities are expected to transfer two suspects to the Netherlands. The two people arrested in Amsterdam were released after questioning, but remain suspects.

OCCRP and media partners reported on Sky Global in the Crime Messenger project, revealing that the company’s distributors had connections to the criminal underworld — and that the resellers often had convictions themselves.