Leaders of a crypto-fraud gang that stole more than $100 million have been detained

Russian Interior Ministry officers have detained the ringleaders of a cryptocurrency fraud gang that swindled more than $100m from Russians and financed the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). This was reported by the official representative of the Russian Interior Ministry Irina Volk.

We are talking about the organizers of regional networks of the company Sincere Systems Group LTD. Law enforcers from Moscow, Bashkiria, Tatarstan, Crimea, Yakutia and employees of the Federal security service (FSB) of Russia participated in the detentions.

"It was preliminarily established that the firm was created by citizens of Ukraine and had been operating in Russia since 2020. The attackers organized a network of representative offices in various subjects of the Russian Federation. Their employees searched for clients with whom they held seminars, webinars and meetings," - said Volk, her words are quoted in the official Telegram-channel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Russians who attended these events were persuaded that the company successfully trades on the FOREX market and operates in other areas, such as the application of artificial intelligence in stock trading. Those who were ready to invest their money were promised a return of 3-30% per month. Potential investors were shown visual examples of people who had successfully invested and received high returns.

Victims who believed these promises of fraudsters, deposited their money through a service for buying cryptocurrency, from which the funds were transferred to the wallets of the organizers of the deceptive scheme. Depositors received digital assets, which Sincere Systems Group LTD issued itself, and they had no real value. To confuse people, a false balance was displayed on their accounts in electronic personal accounts, which was artificially increased, creating the impression of credited profit. Fraudsters did not allow people to withdraw the invested money, allegedly because of the risk that companies would block accounts and audit them.

The money received by the swindlers was transferred to Ukrainian currency exchanges, including WhiteBit. These platforms are involved in the financing of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In addition, Sincere Systems Group LTD itself openly published information that it sponsors the Ukrainian army together with other investment funds, such as United Invest Team, which openly transfers funds to armed formations.

The police conducted more than 30 searches in Bashkiria, Crimea, Sevastopol, Tatarstan, Moscow and Moscow Region. The law enforcers found and seized from the fraudsters means of communication, advertising and souvenir paraphernalia of the project, computer equipment, money, documents, materials describing methods of psychological influence and other items that are evidence of the crime.

The Investigation Department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs opened criminal cases under part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Fraud committed by an organized group on a particularly large scale"). Two suspects were taken into custody, 30 more were investigated in police departments. The investigation is ongoing.

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Earlier, on December 9, the FSB detained fraudsters from an international group, which covered its activities with investment deals. The swindlers deceived about 100 thousand people from more than 50 countries, and received about $1 million a day.

Among the 11 detainees are managers and employees of Russian call centers. They are charged under article 210 ("Organization of a criminal association"), part 4 of article 159 ("Fraud on a large scale") and part 3 of article 207 ("Knowingly false report of an act of terrorism") of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.