Lord777
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The UK police will return the confiscated 2.37 million pounds to the victims of crypto fraud who invested in the fake IOTA project. The assets were seized with the participation of the Kraken crypto exchange.
At the beginning of the year, the Organized Crime Unit of the South-Eastern Region of Great Britain (SEROCU) confiscated about 2.37 million pounds ($2.9 million) in cryptocurrencies from the wallet of Dutch Wybo Wiersma. A 40-year-old man created a fake website disguised as the IOTA blockchain. The attacker deceived about 50 investors from different countries, convincing them to buy cryptocurrency through a fraudulent website.
Viersma pre-generated seed phrases for users, so he was able to access the victims wallets. In January 2018, he appropriated other people's crypto assets, and then distributed them to several cryptocurrency addresses. The fraudster was arrested in 2019, and in January this year was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Law enforcement officials reported that this case was the first time that the British police applied the Proceeds of Crime Act to confiscate stolen funds from a cryptocurrency exchange. The police said that during the investigation of this case, many difficulties had to be overcome, including the conversion of stolen cryptocurrencies. However, thanks to the efforts of the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom (FCA) and the Kraken crypto exchange, the authorities were able to convert the stolen crypto assets into pounds sterling and ensure the legality of this process.
"Fraud victims patiently hoped for a refund within five years. This might not have happened if not for the cooperation with the Kraken trading platform," said SEROCU Inspector Rob Bryant.
At the beginning of the year, the Organized Crime Unit of the South-Eastern Region of Great Britain (SEROCU) confiscated about 2.37 million pounds ($2.9 million) in cryptocurrencies from the wallet of Dutch Wybo Wiersma. A 40-year-old man created a fake website disguised as the IOTA blockchain. The attacker deceived about 50 investors from different countries, convincing them to buy cryptocurrency through a fraudulent website.
Viersma pre-generated seed phrases for users, so he was able to access the victims wallets. In January 2018, he appropriated other people's crypto assets, and then distributed them to several cryptocurrency addresses. The fraudster was arrested in 2019, and in January this year was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Law enforcement officials reported that this case was the first time that the British police applied the Proceeds of Crime Act to confiscate stolen funds from a cryptocurrency exchange. The police said that during the investigation of this case, many difficulties had to be overcome, including the conversion of stolen cryptocurrencies. However, thanks to the efforts of the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom (FCA) and the Kraken crypto exchange, the authorities were able to convert the stolen crypto assets into pounds sterling and ensure the legality of this process.
"Fraud victims patiently hoped for a refund within five years. This might not have happened if not for the cooperation with the Kraken trading platform," said SEROCU Inspector Rob Bryant.
