The Civil Guard has arrested one of the biggest scammers with false investments in cryptocurrencies from Europe, the 45-year-old man who is accused of seven crimes of fraud and money laundering was picked up in Valencia. The total of the blocked assets, between vehicles and bank accounts, amounts to more than two and a half million euros.
According to CVB, the operation, under the name ‘Bitdrop’, began last August through collaboration with private security, as reported this Sunday by the Armed Institute in a statement.
The detainee, a Portuguese national, had created a alleged cryptocurrency investment platform on a website that was made known through various forums, radio programs, sporting events and even charitable movements, in order to attract the attention and investment of people in Spain and Portugal.
The platform offered a minimum return of 2.5 percent per week to investors based on the amount they contributed, who came to acquire roles and thus be able to attract more people.
This method is known as “ponzi scheme”, a type of fraud trying to mislead the victims, who believe that the profits obtained come from a legal activity, although the funds originate from other deceived investors.
In this way, the investment in cryptocurrencies was “a complete success”, so the victims invested greater amounts of money and attracted more investors. The detainee used the victims’ money to lead a high standard of living, with the purchase of high-end vehicles, travel, etc..
The agents have managed to identify several victims in Spain and have discovered that they had managed to commit crimes in Luxembourg, Switzerland and Portugal. On December 2, three entries and searches were carried out, at the home of the detainee, at the company’s headquarters and in a workshop where part of the assets were hidden. In addition, the Civil Guard has proceeded to block several bank accounts and the web pages for accessing the platform and the pages where it was advertised.
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