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The fake gains displayed before the theft were part of the scheme. Police said operators manually created transactions and adjusted users’ account balances to make it appear that their investments were growing.
The platforms weren’t just after crypto. During registration and identity checks, the operators collected passport information, phone numbers, email addresses, login details, passwords and photographs, police said.
That gave the alleged scheme access to digital assets and personal information that could potentially be used in other forms of fraud.
Investigators say the lead organizer, a 25-year-old IT specialist, recruited more than 46 Ukrainian citizens and operated several offices in Kyiv and the surrounding region. Technical workers built and maintained the fake sites and worked to keep them online. Other staff contacted potential victims, managed the offices or provided security.
Police said victims came from Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Spain, France, the U.K., Canada, Israel and other countries.
Infrastructure clues
A major break in the investigation came from infrastructure outside Ukraine.
Authorities traced server equipment used by the group to the Netherlands and obtained access to a database stored there. The records included lists of victims, crypto wallet addresses, amounts allegedly stolen, internal communications and information about how the fake platforms operated.
