Estonian authorities uncover crypto scammers among e-Residency participants

Estonian police suspect participants in the e-residency programme (e-Residency) of involvement in cryptocurrency fraud. Bloomberg reports this citing a report from the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

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The investigators believe that connections between e-residents and major exit scams threaten Estonia’s reputation in the digital sector. Some of them may have been involved in organising suspicious token sales, which are being investigated by the local police.

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Representatives of the e-residency programme are assisting the investigation, seeking to restore confidence in the residency system. In a comment to the publication, the managing director of e-residency, Ott Vatter, noted that not all scammers had Estonian ID cards.

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“But among the scammers there were online residents,” he admitted.

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The report appeared several months after Estonian authorities revoked 500 licences from registered cryptocurrency companies. The drive for the “clean-up” was prompted by a scandal at the local Danske Bank branch, whose employees were accused of laundering $220 billion.

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As a reminder, since July 1 the Estonian government has begun to take a more thorough approach to vetting crypto projects. In addition to a full set of documents and certificates, employees of companies are required to be physically present in the country. The application processing time has increased to 120 days, and the fee has risen from €345 to €3,300.

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In August 2017, the leadership of the e-residency programme proposed to conduct the world’s first state ICO, which would allow holders of online-resident status to invest in the country.

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