The Civil Guard has arrested in Valencia one of the biggest scammers with false investments in cryptocurrencies in Europe, a 45-year-old man of Portuguese nationality, who has been blocked with assets of more than 2.5 million euros.
The detainee is charged with seven crimes of fraud and money laundering, for creating an alleged platform for investments in cryptocurrencies on a website, which he made known through various forums, radio programs, sporting events and even charitable movements, to thus, to attract the attention and investment of numerous people in Spain and Portugal.
The operation began last August, after the agents learned of the events through collaboration with private security, the Civil Guard has reported.
The platform offered a minimum return of 2.5% per week to investors depending on the amount they contributed, eventually acquiring roles and thus being able to attract other investors. This method is known as a “ponzi scheme”, a type of scam that tries to mislead the injured, who believe that the profits obtained come from a legal activity, although the funds come from other deceived investors. In this way, the investment in cryptocurrencies was a success, so the victims invested greater amounts of money and attracted more investors.
As a result of the investigations, it was possible to identify several victims in Spain and it was discovered that the detainee, who had a high standard of living, had managed to commit a crime in Luxembourg, Switzerland and Portugal.
On December 2, searches were carried out at the man’s home, at the company’s headquarters and in a workshop where he hid part of the assets. In addition, several bank accounts and the platform’s access web pages have been blocked, as well as the seizure of a score of high-end vehicles, with a total blocked assets of more than two and a half million euros.
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