Last Thursday hundreds of police officers executed several search warrants against Francisley Valdevino da Silva, the alleged mastermind behind a cryptocurrency pyramid scheme that managed to raise $767m at the expense of victims.
Authorities have not reported on the arrest of da Silva, but they confirmed that they are looking to dismantle his entire organization and retrieve some of the funds.
Da Silva has been known locally as the “cryptocurrency sheik” running a series of bogus investment rings that resulted in substantial personal gain.
However, most of his investors have been empty handed for the most part. The man, who has been running the cryptocurrency scam since 2016, promised high return on investment on any deposits in crypto.
Da Silva used to be a US citizen but has since dropped his citizenship to avoid tighter control under US laws.
Meanwhile, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported that police had already executed more than 20 search and seizure warrants.
Brazil has been sweeping in on various cryptocurrency scams in recent months, most recently in September.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that in the latest raids were responding to a fraudulent investment scheme, which resulted in the deception of investors from dozens of countries.
Da Silva has been committed to denying the charges. His lawyer has repeatedly denied the accusations against his client.
Da Silva has not met with prosecutors or the police in person and is represented by his legal team instead.
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