The Brazilian military police have arrested the founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency pyramid Mirror Trading International (MTI) Johann Steinberg, who was wanted by Interpol and the FBI in 2019.
Law enforcers began spying on the suspect immediately after receiving information about his location in the city of Goiânia.
He was found with forged documents and taken to the federal police department of the Brazilian state of Goias.
According to the authorities, MTI defrauded 170 thousand investors who entrusted the pyramid with at least 22,000 BTC (about $ 920 million at the exchange rate at the time of writing). The organizers promised a monthly return of at least 10%.
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In July 2021, the Brazilian Federal Police liquidated the Bitcoin Banco Group, whose damage to 7,000 citizens exceeded $ 300 million. Its leader, Claudio Oliveira, known as the "King of Bitcoin", was arrested.
In August, the agency seized BRL 150 million ($ 28.7 million) worth of cryptocurrency in a Kryptos operation involving an alleged pyramid scheme.
Recall that in 2021, attackers targeting the cryptocurrency industry stole a record $ 14 billion, according to the analytical company Chainalysis.