The crypto space is an advancement in technology with the purpose of improving the financial system. Experts created the tech to better human life, but some elements use the means to perpetrate crime. One of the primary reasons for the call for crypto regulations is to prevent criminals from being involved in malign and illicit acts.
Hackers threaten several businesses with releasing customer data to the public if they don’t pay the ransomware. The ransomware is usually in crypto to prevent authorities from tracing the account back to the holder. The court sentenced the Bulgarian exchange owner to some years in prison.
Exchange owner sentenced to prison
The owner of RG coins, an exchange, which the court believes uses his platform to launder millions of dollars to prevent being tracked by legislated authorities. Even though cryptocurrencies make life easier with faster and safer transactions, it also increased cybercrime rates. The court gave Lossifov ten years as prison time due to allegations against him for aiding the moving of money gotten illegally.
Apart from money laundering crimes, criminals used the exchange to organize fake auctions, attracting investments that the criminals moved through secretly through the trading platform. Though not directly involved in the crimes, the court believes that the owner knew that criminals used his platform for criminal activities.
The authority responsible for the investigation and arrest of Lossifov explained that the owner purposely continued with his aiding criminal activities. Still, he tried to protect himself from being legally liable for the crimes of those who used his platform. Issues like this made the FinCEN and US Treasury agitate for a clear regulation on crypto exchanges to prevent further losses from their acts.
However, FinCEN’s proposal brought many controversies because people felt the passing of the bill was sudden. Some people claimed that the Trump administration wanted to pass rushed legislation before leaving office quickly.
How the crime started
Before Lossifov explored the American market, he previously aided the illegal acts in Romania. Criminals hosted several offerings through the platform in that country. The auction brought in unsuspecting investors who the criminals defrauded them of their funds. Interestingly, the cyber criminals created ads on non-existing objects on various platforms to attract buyers.
Interested people bided to stand a chance to win the item which never existed for sale. After people dropped their bids, the criminals converted the monies to cryptocurrency and moved it through the platform.
Sources believe that the people made the conversion to prevent governments from finding out where the money went. The department of justice, the body that sentenced him, claimer that the founder spearheaded the fraudulent activities and laundered it through his platform.
The body further explained that the owner did not screen out those who committed the crimes on RG coins leading to his arrest after several complaints from affected people. Also, during the illegal auction commencement, the organizers did not request for bidders’ identity, a clear sign that they wanted to defraud them of their funds.
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