- The accused was a director of two private limited companies.
- The man was charged with fraud, forgery, and money laundering.
A 33-year-old man from the Netherlands has been arrested over bitcoin mining fraud which amounted to over $2.2 million (€2 million). Dutch tax authority’s investigative department, FIOD, reported that the accused was a director of two private limited companies. He apparently convinced around 100 people to buy computers for mining bitcoins that he probably never purchased.
The man was charged with fraud, forgery, and money laundering. The department reported that the man allegedly spent investor’s money on luxury items such as cars, motorbikes, travel, and gambling. The accused started his business in 2017 by promising investors a return of around 0.3 bitcoin a month (currently worth approximately $2,389). The investors filed against him when they did not get their returns.
The FIOD said that money laundering is one of the “serious” crimes and to combat against it is their priority. Dutch financial authorities were planning a licensing scheme for cryptocurrency firms to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing earlier this year.
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