Cryptocurrency pyramid shut down in Cherkasy after $9.1 million losses

National Police of Ukraine officers halted the operations of a fictitious cryptocurrency exchange, whose founders promised investors 7% daily profits. According to the agency’s press service, they said.

According to investigators, the perpetrators created an app resembling the site of an unnamed popular Bitcoin exchange. The minimum investment amount was 150,000 hryvnias (about $5,500). New investors were recruited through ambassadors.

When users tried to withdraw their money, the organizers told them that such an option was unavailable, and subsequently blocked access. The total losses exceeded 250 million hryvnias ($9.1 million).

Law enforcement conducted seven searches in Cherkasy and Khmelnytskyi regions, during which mobile phones, computer equipment, bank cards, cash and weapons were seized.

The police opened a criminal case for fraud. The organizer faces up to eight years’ imprisonment.

Earlier ForkLog reported that the Finiko financial pyramid suspended payments and demanded users’ personal data.

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