Brazilian Federal Police have successfully seized one of the country’s greatest amounts of digital cash.
According to a CNN Brazil story, the Federal Police busted a cryptocurrency Ponzi scam and seized roughly $30 million in digital money. The Lakes Region of the Rio Federal Police conducted an investigation into a pyramid fraud dubbed “Operation Kryptos.” The funds seized will be liquidated promptly and made available to the courts.
On August 24, officers executed 15 search and seizure orders as part of Operation Krypto. Along with the cryptocurrencies, 21 expensive vehicles and a collection of watches and jewelry were seized. The Federal Police also seized foreign currency worth more than $3 million and a variety of documents.
Additionally, the warrants resulted in five arrests, including Glaidson Acácio, the proprietor of a Bitcoin consulting firm in Cabo Frio. According to authorities, Acácio was apprehended in his Barra da Tijuca residence. According to investigators, Acácio is suspected of transferring billions of dollars via the pyramid scam, which promised investors returns of up to 15%. Acácio’s defense team stated that they were aware of the arrest but have not yet reviewed the details of the investigation. “Glaidson Acácio’s defense is aware of the arrest but has not yet reviewed the contents of the investigations,” the defense stated. We will be able to express ourselves concretely only after a thorough examination of every documentation.
CNN said that Gladison already has a custody court scheduled for Thursday. Outside of Rio, one arrest occurred at Cabo Frio and two occurred in So Paulo’s Guarulhos Airport.
Brazil takes an anti-cryptocurrency stance
Brazil has been extremely active in recent months regulating, investigating, and punishing cryptocurrency crimes. Earlier this month, a separate operation name “Compliance” involved over 150 Federal Police officers serving over 30 search and seizure warrants.
It was the climax of a three-year inquiry, during which the Federal Court also banned over 30 bank accounts and bitcoin wallets. Enterprise Compliance followed another large-scale seizure of approximately $30 million in conjunction with a money-laundering operation. Six search warrants were performed in the city of Sa Paulo, and two arrests were made. The arrests followed the discovery of 17 bogus organizations used to purchase Bitcoin and funnel it into offshore accounts.
Also Read: Coinbase’s Commits To Investing $500 Million In Crypto-Assets
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