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Europol Sees Tools to Tackle Crime in Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technologies
9.9.2022
Abuse expands with use in the case of cryptocurrency, Europol has acknowledged while also noting that blockchain technologies offer authorities a new opportunity to fight crime. Europe’s law enforcement agency also says they can help investigate money laundering networks. Understanding...
Russian Arrested for Defrauding Buyers of Mining Hardware Worth Over $300,000
5.9.2022
Police in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan have detained a man accused of defrauding people who wanted to purchase crypto miners. Law enforcement officials say the suspect made millions of rubles through fictitious sales of mining devices to Russian citizens and foreigners. Investigators...
Ukrainian Police Bust Crypto Call Centers Defrauding Investors Across Europe
1.9.2022
Ukrainian investigators have exposed a scheme targeting residents of the country and the European Union with various financial scams, including some related to cryptocurrencies. The criminal organization members contacted their victims through call centers to collect personal financial information....
Israel Arrests 3 in Crypto Scheme to Launder Millions Stolen From France
17.8.2022
Police in Israel have detained three suspects who allegedly laundered millions of euros stolen from the French treasury through cryptocurrency transactions. The money came from government grants for businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Israeli Law Enforcement Busts Money-Laundering Ring...
Dutch Law Enforcement Arrests Suspected Tornado Cash Developer in Amsterdam
12.8.2022
According to a statement from the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), law enforcement officials in Amsterdam arrested an unnamed 29-year-old suspected of developing the ethereum mixing application Tornado Cash. FIOD accuses the suspect of “concealing criminal financial...
Belarus Issues International Arrest Warrant for Owner of Country’s ‘Largest Crypto Exchanger’
11.8.2022
Law enforcement officials in Minsk are seeking international assistance to locate and detain the man who ran what is said to be the biggest online exchanger for cryptocurrencies in Belarus. The crypto trader has been accused of tax evasion and an investigation against three of his accomplices...
Greek Police Scramble to Catch Onecoin’s ‘Cryptoqueen’ Ruja Ignatova, Local Media Reports
29.7.2022
Law enforcement in Greece has recently tried to locate Ruja Ignatova, founder of the infamous Onecoin pyramid scheme. According to a leading Greek daily, investigators acted on intelligence suggesting she was still in the country. Also known as ‘Cryptoqueen,’ Ignatova was last seen...
Report: Blockchain.com CEO Reveals Company Lost $270 Million From 3AC Exposure
8.7.2022
According to a report published on July 8, the cryptocurrency firm Blockchain.com lost $270 million from exposure to the crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC). The news was shared in a recent letter to shareholders written by the company’s CEO Peter Smith. The Blockchain.com executive...
Onecoin’s Co-Founder Ruja Ignatova Has Been Added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List
30.6.2022
One of the Onecoin co-founders, Ruja Ignatova, otherwise known as the ‘Cryptoqueen,’ has been added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on Thursday. In addition to adding the Cryptoqueen to the most wanted list, the FBI is offering...
Alleged Hydra Administrator Refuses to Provide Access to His Crypto Wallet, Report Claims
1.6.2022
A Moscow court has ordered the seizure of the crypto wallet of one of the alleged administrators of darknet market Hydra. Media reports reveal, however, that the man — who was arrested in Russia in mid-April — is refusing to share access to his presumed crypto stash with Russian...
Bulgarian Crypto Trader Disappears Under Mysterious Circumstances
27.5.2022
The whereabouts of Alexander Altunbashev, a Bulgarian entrepreneur and crypto trader, are unknown since Monday. Law enforcement officials are now investigating his possible abduction while some in the local crypto community speculate he might be hiding from disgruntled investors. Bulgarian...
Russian security agency wants exchanges to share data with crime investigators
28.4.2022
The measure comes along with a proposed ban on advertising of non-licensed crypto services
Germany Shuts Down Hydra Market, Seizes Servers and Bitcoin
5.4.2022
Law enforcement agencies in Germany have targeted Hydra, a leading darknet market (DNM). As part of an operation conducted with U.S. support, the German police were able to establish control over the servers of the Russian-language platform in the country and take down its website. Investigators...
Journalist Claims She Identified the 2016 DAO Hacker, Evidence Shows Investigators ‘De-Mixed’ Wasabi Transactions
22.2.2022
An article published by journalist Laura Shin, and research stemming from the blockchain surveillance firm Chainalysis, claims to identify the alleged identity of The DAO hacker who drained millions of dollars worth of ethereum from the decentralized autonomous organization on June 17, 2016....
FBI Collaborates With Citibank, Sony, Japanese Authorities to Seize $180 Million in Bitcoin
23.12.2021
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in collaboration with Citibank, Sony, and Japanese law enforcement, has taken action to “return more than $154 million in funds that were allegedly stolen from a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.” The U.S. Department...
Ukraine Security Service Busts Criminal Group Selling Bitcoin-Stealing Malware
27.10.2021
Law enforcement authorities in Ukraine have exposed a crime ring specializing in cryptocurrency theft and laundering of illicit funds for hackers. The gang, which provided services to clients on the darknet, has been dismantled as a result of a joint operation carried out with the United States....
Top Finiko Crypto Pyramid Executive Arrested in Russia’s Tatarstan
9.9.2021
A high-ranking representative of Russia’s notorious Finiko Ponzi scheme has been arrested in Tatarstan. Ilgiz Shakirov, a businessman from Kazan, rose to the rank of vice president of the crypto pyramid which is believed to have defrauded millions of investors in the Russian Federation...
FBI Helps to Train Nigerian Crypto Crime Investigators
29.8.2021
The United States government through the FBI recently helped to run a training exercise whose goal is to enhance the capacity of Nigerian cryptocurrency crime investigators, the U.S. Mission Nigeria (USMN) has said. The exercise saw over 50 Nigerian investigators and prosecutors participate....
FBI Joins Probe Into Collapsed South African Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme
5.8.2021
In what is seen as a boost for Mirror Trading International (MTI) investors, United States investigators are said to have joined the probe into the collapsed bitcoin scheme. According to a report, the U.S. investigators’ goal for joining this probe is to help “recover the assets...
Japanese Police Arrest 4 Men Allegedly Behind $55 Million Crypto Investment Scheme
14.7.2021
Four alleged masterminds of the “Oz Project” have been arrested after duping investors across Japan for at least four years. According to investigators, the scheme raked in $55 million from about 20,000 investors, promising 2.5 times returns in four months. Police in Aichi Prefecture...