FBI Arrested 26 Israelis on Suspicion of Involvement in Crypto Fraud Scheme

The Federal Bureau of Investigation partnered up with the Israeli Police to arrest 26 people alleged of offenses related to digital currencies employment. While the operation happened in Tel Aviv, it involved victims who all reside abroad.

Detaining The Criminals

According to a local report, the FBI and the Tel Aviv district fraud unit of the Israeli Police conducted an investigation on criminals who conned tens of millions of shekels from victims. In a recent joint operation, the two units arrested 26 people suspected of taking part in money-laundering offenses related to digital forex trading.

The local officials said they had received a report from the US that a group of Israelis was tricking dozens of people into a fraudulent investment scheme with cryptocurrencies. Instead of providing the promised services, the criminals stole millions of dollars from the victims.

After the investigation, the authorities detained the bad actors in an overnight operation and seized digital storage devices and computers as proof of the investigation.

Per the announcement, all of the arrested are residents of central Israel. The officials did not reveal their names nor the company they work for. However, they informed that the process will start with two of the suspects, men in their 30s, who will appear at Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court this week. The victims of the fraud, on the other hand, are Americans.

The report added that in addition to the arrests in Israel, local law enforcement agencies have recently carried out similar operations in other countries around the globe.

Other Arrests of Crypto Fraudsters

One of the hottest topics in the digital asset space earlier this year was the notorious trading venue – Thodex. In April, nearly 400,000 users of the Turkish cryptocurrency exchange were left out of their accounts without being able to withdraw their funds. The platform’s website was down for several days, while reports suggested its CEO had fled the country with up to $2 billion.

Following the investigation, the Turkish Police detained 62 people involved in the scam and even jailed 6 of them. The brother and the sister of the company’s CEO – Faruk Fatih Özer – were among them. The head of Thodex, though, is still at large.

As CryptoPotato reported in June, such an arrest also occurred in China. Back then, the Chinese authorities detained 1,100 suspects who allegedly used digital assets for money laundering activities to avoid law enforcement agents. The subsequent investigation also led to the dismantling of 170 criminal gangs.