Federal police launched this Thursday (11) the fourth phase of the Kryptos operation, which investigates billion-dollar fraud involving cryptocurrencies. Five preventive arrest warrants and four search and seizure warrants are being carried out in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Cabo Frio (RJ).
The first phase of Operation Kryptos was launched in August last year to investigate a company, based in the Lagos region of Rio de Janeiro, that used a financial pyramid scheme, through speculation in the cryptocurrency market and the promise, to customers , of financial return. Two more phases were carried out earlier this year: Valletta, in February, and Betka, in March.
In the first stage, former waiter Glaidson Acácio dos Santos, known as the “bitcoin pharaoh”, was arrested for alleged pyramid scheme.
The fourth phase, called Flyer One, focuses on the group’s performance in the United States. The scheme also started to work outside Brazil, raising funds from people in countries such as the USA and Portugal.
In the United States, the scheme was led by a man who fled Brazil with a false passport, due to a previous conviction for international drug trafficking.
The scheme, according to the PF, used false documents to justify deposits in US bank accounts. The investigation found the deposit of US dollar-backed crypto assets (stable coins) on the account of the man appointed as the leader of the organization.
Targets of today’s action that are in the United States have been included in the red list (red notice) from Interpol. The investigated may answer for the crimes of illegal issuance of securities without prior registration, criminal organization and money laundering.
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