Dutch police have arrested the founder of blockchain game development startup Komodore64 that allegedly raised 78 million euros ($86 million) from investors, business-focused news outlet Sprout reported on Nov. Komodore64 — which launched in June with the objective to create a game platform where transactions are tracked on blockchain — appeared to be a fraudulent scheme that deceived both investors and its own employees. The project and its native crypto coin K64, which have reportedly secured roughly $86 million in investments, have declared bankruptcy. Involvement of a “well-known investment company” Komodore64’s founder Sam N. allegedly lured investors claiming that the …

Russia is planning on creating legal statutes allowing the government to achieve the impossible: confiscation of Bitcoin (BTC). As local financial news outlet RBC reported on Nov. 7 citing sources familiar with the matter, Russia’s interior ministry will work with various state organs to draw up the plans, which could enter into law in 2021. Confiscating the non-confiscatable The push does not single out Bitcoin, but instead refers to “digital assets” as a general phenomenon, chief among which are cryptocurrencies, says RBC. The publication quoted Nikita Kulikov, head of a dedicated committee at the Russian parliament, as explaining: “The constant …

The police of Pune, a city in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, have sought a court's directive to transfer 85 million Rupees seized from a Bitcoin (BTC) ponzi scheme last year. $1.2 million frozen In an Oct. 3 article by the Times of India, Pune cyber police explained that the value of 244 cryptocurrency units (worth $1.2 million) was blocked in the bank account of company Discidium Internet, which was hired by the police to convert the seized crypto units into rupees. The cyber police’s senior inspector Jairam Paygude said that the Central Bank of India was unable to …

The British police are auctioning off half a million sterling ($621,400) worth of seized Bitcoin (BTC), the London Economic reported on Sept. 25. The funds were reportedly seized from a criminal who had offered his hacking services in exchange for Bitcoin and had illegally stolen and sold personal data. The sale represents the first time that forfeited cryptocurrency funds are sold on behalf of the United Kingdom authorities, according to the report. Beyond Bitcoin, the police are also selling-off assets belonging to the criminal, including cars, diamond jewelry and a luxury Rolex watch. The auction, managed by Ireland-based auction house …

Philippine police have reportedly raided the offices of an alleged cryptocurrency scam that was targeting investors in China. According to a Sept. 15 report by local news outlet Inquirer.net, agents from the Bureau of Immigration, the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and the National Police’s Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group raided the offices of Grapefruit Services Inc. in Pasig City on Sept. 11. Authorities reportedly received a tip from the Chinese Embassy, which claimed that the firm had already defrauded thousands of investors in mainland China. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said that the Chinese government cancelled the passports of all the employees, …

The offices of Chinese initial coin offering (ICO) startup GXChain have reportedly been closed by the local police. On Sept. 11, Dovey Wan — founding partner of blockchain-based investment company Primitive Ventures — tweeted a photo of an office taped closed (presumably by Chinese police) and announced that GXChain “got clamped down by the Chinese police.” She also said that she believes the project to be notable and legitimate: “GXChain was a very hot ICO back in the days with ATH market cap over $600M (even now still holds $48M) and considered to be among the very few legit ICOs.” …

A 48-year old Thai man who called himself the “cryptocurrency wizard” has been arrested in Bangkok over his alleged role in a 500 million baht ($16.3 million) crypto exchange fraud. The Bangkok Post reports on Sept. 5 that police nabbed Mana Jumuang, who has been under an arrest warrant since Aug. 23, while he was playing soccer in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district yesterday. A $16.3 million scheme with victims across 10 countries According Pol Maj Gen Jiraphop Phuridet, commander of the Bangkok police’s Crime Suppression Division, Jumuang is accused of being part of a Thai-Vietnamese criminal group that targeted victims …

French police have shut down a massive botnet that has been used for Monero (XMR) cryptojacking. Cryptojacking backed by “massive firepower” BBC News reported the development on Aug. 27. According to the police, the botnet was distributed by sending virus-laden emails with offers for erotic pictures or fast cash, and further propogated through infected USB drives. The virus, called Retadup, ultimately infected 850,000 computers in over 100 countries — thus creating a massive botnet. The chief of C3N — the French police’s cybercrime unit — Jean-Dominique Nollet spoke on France Inter radio about the power of a botnet this size, …

Australian citizen Katherine Nguyen has pleaded guilty to stealing $450,000 in XRP — over 100,000 tokens — in January 2018. Local news channel 7News Sydney reported the latest about the case on Aug. 23. According to the report, Nguyen hacked into the email account of a man with the same last name. She then proceeded to steal all of his XRP, before unlocking his account two days later. Police reportedly investigated the theft for 10 months before locating and arresting her. Nguyen has since pleaded guilty to the theft, for which she will reportedly face jail time. A special hearing …

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has arrested power plant operators for mining cryptocurrency in the Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant facility. English-language Ukrainian news site UNIAN reported the details of the arrest on Aug. 21. According to its article, the crypto miners compromised the nuclear facility’s security via their mining setup’s internet connection — and reportedly ended up leaking classified information on the plant’s physical protection system. SBU detectives obtained a search warrant and performed an investigation on July 10. They found unauthorized computer equipment and seized a media converter, fiber-optic cable and a partial network cable. Nuclear engineers attempted …

Wealthy businessman Eike Batista has been arrested by federal police on account of suspected money laundering, which they believe he achieved by trading Bitcoin (BTC) on his wife’s behalf. The details of Batista’s arrest were reported by Cointelegraph Brasil on Aug. 8. Prosecutors reportedly found notes indicating that he had traded BTC for his wife, who is not currently being investigated. The Federal Prosecutor wrote: "Although the suspect’s wife, Mrs. Flávia, is not being investigated, it is quite possible, given the evidence of such a usual means of money laundering that the suspect was using the wife's name and account …

Chinese police are reportedly taking legal action against non-custodial token trading platform EtherDelta in connection with an apparent exit scam. The news was reported on Aug. 7 in a series of tweets published by Dovey Wan, founding partner at blockchain-focused investment firm Primitive Ventures. New Chinese owners allegedly used EtherDelta for exit scam ICO Wan’s tweets indicate that the alleged exit scam involved the sale of native exchange asset EtherDelta Token (EDT) following the acquisition of the exchange by unnamed Chinese investors: “The actual beneficiaries of EtherDelta are all Chinese after ownership transition in 2017 [...] Basically [the founder] Zack …