$87M crypto scam uncovered in Norway, four individuals indicted

Norwegian authorities charged four people for their involvement in a vast fraud and money laundering operation that has deceived thousands of victims in several countries.

Økokrim, the Norway economic crime unit, revealed The fact that more than 900 million kroner (86 to 87 million dollars) were channeled in the program, with more than 700 million Kroner bleached through a Norwegian law firm and transferred to accounts in Asia .

According to the indictment, the victims were trained in the scam thanks to a marketing structure on several levels. Recruited by existing members, the participants were convinced to buy “product packages” that included cryptocurrency and the company’s owners.

They were promised to participate in what was presented as a lucrative company investing in the gas fields, mining and real estate.

“We believe that it is an important and extended fraud,” said state prosecutor Joakim Ziesler Berge. “We are talking about a large number of victims in many countries that have lost their money and important sums that ended up with the defendants.”

Investigators claim that no substantial investment has been made and that the company has had no income outside the deposits of new members – a characteristic of a Ponzi diagram.

The funds would have been bleached via complex layers before being distributed in the form of “yields” to the best networks and first investors.

The authorities also highlighted the role of professional facilitators, such as lawyers and accountants, to obscure the monetary track.

The situation shows that organized crime, in particular fraud and money laundering beyond national borders, will be the subject of an in-depth and prosecuted investigation, that the victims are located in countries outside Norway, according to Berge.

Investment fraud and the abusive use of finance professionals to hide the criminal product are growing concerns worldwide. Europol has warned that financial crimes like these are the “crime engine” and remain an important challenge for international police.