At one of the detained organizers of the scheme, police found the administrator panel from which the crypto ATMs were controlled and blocked the network. The network consisted of several dozen crypto ATMs in a number of regions. Clients deposited funds into the terminals without realizing that they were replenishing the cryptocurrency wallets of the organizers of the fraudulent scheme, police said.
The leader of the criminal group turned out to be a citizen of Ukraine, assures the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. He personally withdrew the funds deposited through crypto ATMs and brought them to the exchanger, where he was credited with cryptocurrency. The detainee transferred this cryptocurrency to “his curators from Ukraine,” keeping part of the funds for himself, the police said.
About 150 people are considered injured. Among them is a military man who was in Moscow for rehabilitation and transferred over 2.5 million rubles to a supposedly safe account.
Police officers seized terminals, large sums of money, mobile phones and other items from the detainees. One of the defendants in the case is in custody, the rest were released, obliging them to appear at the police station upon request.
Earlier, Kommersant reported that a St. Petersburg court sentenced three cryptocurrency brokers who stole more than 55 million rubles from clients.
Source: Bits
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