In an alleged $300 million embezzlement case, a Brazilian 'bitcoin king' has been arrested.
- - Several persons have been arrested by police in the Brazilian state of Parana for their alleged participation in a bitcoin fraud.
- - After a three-year investigation, a self-proclaimed "bitcoin king" was detained as part of the plan.
- - Thousands of customers of a cryptocurrency brokerage firm were allegedly injured as a result of the alleged scheme, according to police.
Police in Brazil have arrested a self-proclaimed "bitcoin king" as part of a case charging the gang of running a $300 million embezzlement scam.
The arrests come after a three-year investigation by 90 federal agents in the state of Parana in southern Brazil. In a press conference on Monday, police detailed the case, including the arrest of Claudio Oliveira, the so-called "Bitcoin King," who is accused of being the mastermind behind the theft of 1.5 billion Brazilian reais ($300 million) from investors. A number of additional persons were detained.
Oliveira was the head of Bitcoin Banco Group, a crypto brokerage that claimed in 2019 that 7,000 bitcoin had gone missing. According to the CoinDesk investigation, the organisation then illegally sought for judicial recovery, a form of exemption that permits an entity to pay creditors without declaring for bankruptcy.
However, in 2020, it was discovered that the group was not adhering to the terms of the judicial reorganisation. Police claimed the group proceeded to bring in new customers and boost its commercial activities without registering with the country's Securities Commission, or CVM, according to a translated press release.
The group is suspected of engaging into illegal contracts with thousands of customers, according to the press release about "Operação Daemon," or Operation Daemon.
