3

AfriCrypt Disappears With a $3.6 Billion Investment, Could Be Largest Scam in th...

 2 years ago
source link: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/375741
Go to the source link to view the article. You can view the picture content, updated content and better typesetting reading experience. If the link is broken, please click the button below to view the snapshot at that time.

AfriCrypt Disappears With a $3.6 Billion Investment, Could Be Largest Scam in the History of Crypto

The South African company disappeared with 69,000 Bitcoins.
AfriCrypt Disappears With a $3.6 Billion Investment, Could Be Largest Scam in the History of Crypto

Image credit:

Depositphotos.com

June 25, 2021 2 min read
This article was translated from our Spanish edition using AI technologies. Errors may exist due to this process.

 In mid-April, investors from AfriCrypt, a South African crypto investment company, received an email explaining that the platform was closing as a result of a massive hack of all its electronic accounts and wallets, which would remain frozen.

But the founders reportedly transferred the funds from a Johannesburg First National Bank (FNB) account and disappeared, according to Bloomberg. Since then, brothers Ameer and Raees Cajee have not answered calls. The 20 and 17-year-old disappeared with 69,000 Bitcoins, about $3.6 billion.

The notice in the email implored investors not to take legal action, as the company would take care of resolving the situation, which at first glance seemed suspicious.

Related: It Is a Bad Idea for El Salvador to Accept Bitcoin as Legal Currency, IMF Alerts

Hanekom Attorneys, the South African law firm handling the case, explains that the funds passed through so many filters and portals on the dark web that they have been impossible to trace.

The events were reported to the South African police specializing in tax crimes called the Hawks. Although the Supreme Court of Gauteng, South Africa, granted a liquidation order against the brothers, the government's ability to investigate will be limited by the lack of a legal framework regulating these types of digital assets.

Although this fact has yet to be proven in court, it could be the largest scam in the history of cryptocurrencies, according to Bloomberg.

Related: I Made Up My Mind to Buy Bitcoin! How Do I Do It?


About Joyk


Aggregate valuable and interesting links.
Joyk means Joy of geeK