Federal Police of Brazil seized gold, luxury cars, and watches worth 4 billion Brazilian reals (about $766 M) while raiding houses of the members of a gang led by businessman Francisley Valdevino da Silva, known as "Sheik dos Bitcoins".
Related: Brazil to check exchanges for compliance with anti-money laundering laws
According to a report by a local newspaper, the police claim that the group defrauded thousands of people from Brazil and other countries.
As a result of the operation, federal police and Federal Revenue agents issued 20 search and seizure warrants. The police say the group is responsible for crimes of embezzlement, money laundering, and criminal organization.
They implemented multilevel marketing in the US and over 10 other countries. Also, they created and marketed their own cryptocurrencies. However, crypto assets were not backed and had no liquidity in the market.