Law enforcement in Mumbai, India have exposed a group allegedly involved in a cryptocurrency scam that amassed an estimated 1 billion rupees (nearly $17 million), local media outlet The Times of India reports on Feb. 17. The case reportedly led to the freezing of several accounts in the country and to the arrest of four individuals — Sanjay Sontakke, Rajnikant Kumavat, Alpesh Barodia and Kirankumar Panchsara. According to The Times of India, the police are also looking for a fifth suspect, Ashok Goyal, who reportedly played a key role in the alleged scam. The complaint that led to the four …

This article has been updated to reflect Moshe Hogeg’s relation to Stox. Moshe Hogeg, an Israeli entrepreneur, has denied misappropriating investors’ funds in a response to the lawsuit filed against him. Online newspaper The Times of Israel reported the development on Saturday, Feb. 9. Hogeg is the co-founder, managing partner and chairman of Singulariteam, which led an $8 million Series A funding round for blockchain firm Stox (STX) in 2015. As Cointelegraph wrote earlier in January, Chinese investor Zhewen Hu has sued Stox and Hogeg for $4.6 million. Hu claims to have invested a total of around $3.8 million worth …

Frenchman Hervé Falciani, a whistleblower who has been convicted of the largest leak in banking history, plans to launch an ethical cryptocurrency that would combat money-laundering and fraud, Reuters reported on Feb. 8. In 2015, Falciani was convicted in absentia by Swiss courts for aggravated financial espionage after leaking the details of ~30,000 accounts, holding almost $120 billion in assets at HSBC’s Swiss private bank. The evidence — which was alleged to have exposed a web of clients’ tax evasion, money laundering, and illicit financing schemes — has since triggered investigations and prosecutions in several countries, and Falciani remains in …

A new Bitcoin (BTC) scam website representing digital assets platform Bakkt has appeared on the internet, with its domain “bakktplatform.io” registered on Jan. 31. The fake Bakkt website claims that the launch of the platform will take place on March 12, also offering investors a chance to participate in another funding round, accepting “investments” in Bitcoin. Citing official data from the genuine Bakkt blog, the fake website mentions that the upcoming digital asset platform had raised $182.5 million in the end of 2018, and announced a second investment round for “all interested investors who believe in the future of the …

The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reported that common investment scams’ losses — including those crypto-related — amounted in total to over £197 million ($255 million) in 2018. The agency reported the losses in an official press release published on Feb. 6. According to data from the FCA call center, the most common reported scams involved unauthorized investments in shares and bonds, forex markets and cryptocurrencies. Each victim lost an average of £29,000 ($37,000), with such types of fraudulent investments accounting for a total of 4,996 reported cases and constituting 85 percent of the overall number of scam …

A lawsuit recently filed in a United States district court in New York claims that an investor was misled into investing $2 million dollars in the cryptocurrency MCash, a Feb. 1 court filing states. The filing alleges that the plaintiff Lijun Sun transferred $2 million to New-York based investment group Blue Ocean Capital Group, Inc. to purchase MCash tokens, stating: “Not only was the MCash Token not properly registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but more importantly, in connection with selling the MCash Token, Defendants made numerous misrepresentations and omissions that induced Plaintiff to invest $2 million.” …

United States law enforcement has indicted two more men over alleged SIM-swapping scams involving cryptocurrency. A press release from the Northern District of California Attorney’s Office confirmed the indictment on Feb. 4. Ahmad Wagaafe Hared and Matthew Gene Ditman, who prosecutors accuse of conducting fraud, extortion and identity theft, were released on bond pending two trials set for Feb. 6 and 19. SIM-swapping, an increasingly popular scam among cryptocurrency thieves, involves perpetrators convincing cellphone operator staff to transfer cell phone numbers from victims’ devices in the hope of hacking crypto exchange accounts. Hared and Ditman, along with unnamed co-conspirators, also …

Manhattan’s District Attorney (DA) announced the indictment of an individual for stealing identities and funds, including crypto, via a process known as SIM swapping. The announcement was made in an official press release from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on Feb. 1. The defendant, Dawson Bakies, has been accused of stealing the identities of over 50 victims in the United States, and also stealing funds from some of them. The 20-year-old man has been charged with identity theft, grand larceny, computer tampering and scheme to defraud among other charges in a New York State Supreme Court indictment. According the Manhattan …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has warned the public against an alleged scam claiming that a cryptocurrency is officially adopted by the government, according to an official statement on Jan. 29. MAS, which is both Singapore's central bank and the country’s financial regulator, writes that the fraudulent scheme is being spread through websites that offer crypto investment using false data attributed to the government. The fraudulent websites reportedly claim that Singapore is adopting a cryptocurrency as its official coin, and ask users to provide personal and financial data to buy the crypto on an exclusive basis. Apart from reporting …

The Italian securities regulator, Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), has added crypto company Togacoin to its scam blacklist on Jan. 28. The regulator released its warning against Togacoin alongside similar warnings concerning binary options company Smart Choice Zone and forex exchange Fx Breeze. The three firms have been added to the CONSOB’s warning list because of failing to obtain authorization to operate in Italy. Togacoin’s website features a “Revenue Calculator” that promises a return of 239% in one year, a 654% return in three years and a 33-page white paper. The website also outlines the company’s …

Police in New Taipei, Taiwan, have arrested fifteen suspects for allegedly running a cryptocurrency scam that earned them millions of dollars, English-language local media Focus Taiwan reports on Jan. 26. According to the article, the chief of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) Li Chi-hsun said at a press conference that the fifteen suspects — including the alleged leader surnamed Lin — have been arrested in two separate raids carried out on Jan. 9 and Jan. 17. The arrested suspects have been reportedly charged with fraud, and the case has been handed over to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office. The group …

A Chinese investor has sued a prominent Israeli crypto entrepreneur and his blockchain firm Stox (STX) over alleged fraud, English-language newspaper The Times of Israel reports Jan. 25. The investor, Zhewen Hu, is suing Stox and its founder for $4.6 million, according to the report. Hu allegedly invested a total of around $3.8 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) in the blockchain firm — an open source, Ethereum-based prediction market platform dubbed Stox, founded by Moshe Hogeg. Hogeg is well-known for his multiple cryptocurrency-related ventures — which include founding blockchain smartphone developer Sirin Labs, and serving as chairman of LeadCoin, a …