The Italian Police claimed to have unearthed one of the largest cybercrime fraud amounting to $146 million in a series of hacks orchestrated by allegedly a former cryptocurrency exchange operator. The police claimed that the former owner of the crypto exchange which declared bankruptcy last year carried out a series of hacks resulting in losses worth $120 million euros.
The alleged fraud was related to a cryptocurrency called Nano created back in 2015 and held by BitGrail and a total of 230,000 people were defrauded. The Police said,
“It is the biggest cyber-financial attack in Italy and one of the biggest in the world. For the first time in Italy and in Europe, we have documented fraudulent and rapacious conduct to the detriment of investors carried out entirely on IT platforms and via the use of virtual currencies.”
The Alleged Fraudster Faces Charges of Money-Laundering
The alleged suspect in the case happens to be a 34-year old male from Florence with an initial F.F who currently faces charges of computer fraud, money laundering, and fraudulent bankruptcy. The police claimed that the suspect in the case himself called up the police to report his crime and described the series of hacks resulting in a loss of “a huge sum.”
Ivano Gabrielli, director of the national center for cyber crimes (CNAIPIC) revealed that during the course of the investigation it came out that the chief of BitGrail was very much involved in the crime. he said,
“It is not yet clear whether he participated actively in the theft or if he simply decided not to increase security measures after discovering it,”
The director of CNAIPIC also revealed that detecting the fraud would have been easier after the first theft but the main accused made sure to prevent them in accordance with the chief of the exchange.
