33-year old Dutch man accused of $2.2m Bitcoin mining fraud
- A director of two private limited companies arrested in The Netherlands for Bitcoin mining fraud.
- The man was charged with fraud, forgery and money laundering.
A 33-year-old man from the Netherlands has been arrested over Bitcoin mining fraud which amounted to over $2.2 million (€2 million). Dutch tax authority’s investigative department, FIOD, reported that the accused was a director of two private limited companies. He apparently convinced around 100 people to buy computers for mining bitcoins that he probably never purchased.
The man was charged with fraud, forgery and money laundering. The department reported that the man allegedly spent investor’s money on luxury items such as cars, motorbikes, travel and gambling. The accused started his business in 2017 by promising investors a return of around 0.3 Bitcoin a month (currently worth approximately $2,389). The investors filed against him when they did not get their returns.
The FIOD said that money laundering is one of the “serious” crimes and to combat against it is their priority. Dutch financial authorities were planning a licensing scheme for cryptocurrency firms to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing earlier this year.
Author
Rajarshi Mitra
Independent Analyst
Rajarshi entered the blockchain space in 2016. He is a blockchain researcher who has worked for Blockgeeks and has done research work for several ICOs. He gets regularly invited to give talks on the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
