Thessaloniki: Those accused of fraud with bitcoins are being remanded in custody-How they set up the plot |

The two foreigners arrested on charges of fraud against the owner of a real estate management company, from which they extracted bitcoins worth almost half a million dollars, were sentenced to pre-trial detention after apologizing to the 7th regular interrogator in Thessaloniki.

He is a 20-year-old and his 26-year-old partner, Romanian nationals, who are being prosecuted for criminal organization and computer fraud in conspiracy, while the case file includes a third person, who is said to be their accomplice and is wanted outside Greece, in collaboration with foreigners. Principles.

According to the case file, the arrested were presented to the Greek businessman as potential buyers of a property – “fillet” in Thessaloniki, worth 2 million euros. After agreeing to buy and sell, they asked the businessman to show the amount of 2.5 million euros as the price of the property, in order to mislead their partner, according to what is described in the prosecution documents.

To make sure they would not lose their money, they persuaded the victim to show them a $ 445,000 bitcoin digital wallet, which he would return to them after the purchase. In an appointment made last Tuesday, in a cafe in Thessaloniki, the businessman gave the couple a usb stick with codes to unlock the digital wallet, and then, according to the case file, the 26-year-old allegedly magically replaced the stick with a other, empty. With the stick and the codes in hand, they disappeared and headed to the airport “Macedonia”, where they were preparing to board a flight to Germany.

The businessman realized the fraud and notified the police, who after an operation arrested the foreigners before boarding the plane. They themselves, in their apology before the investigator, seem to have accepted part of the accusations, but stressed that they themselves were victims of fraud by their alleged accomplice. The flow of cryptocurrencies is being investigated by the Cybercrime Prosecution of Northern Greece in collaboration with Europol.