Seventeen members of a criminal organization that defrauded cryptocurrency investors have been arrested so far, among them nine military personnel, according to exclusive information from ERTnews.
Among those arrested are also said to be two non-commissioned officers, who, according to the same information, had a leading role in the organization. The ring was dismantled by the Katerini Security Department.
The criminal group is alleged to have defrauded investors by convincing them to invest money in cryptocurrencies through a platform controlled by the organization. The financial gain of the gang is estimated, according to police sources, at approximately 8 million dollars, while it is estimated that about 10,000 people had invested money in the platform.
The organization's activity is alleged to have begun at least one year before its dismantling. In fact, for the operation of the ring, offices had been set up in Katerini, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Patras, and on an island of the Dodecanese.
According to the information so far, the gang operated in the form of a pyramid scheme. Each member who attracted new members received a bonus from the leading members, who are alleged to have had control of the fraud.
The members of the organization are alleged to have initially given investors the impression that they could make profits from their investments, while subsequently they did not return the capital they had invested.
According to the same information, the case file also includes nine more Greeks, among them another member of the Armed Forces, who are alleged to have joined the criminal organization.
During the searches carried out in homes and in the offices of the criminal group, approximately 300,000 euros, numerous electronic devices, data storage devices, and documents were seized.
The authorities' investigations are ongoing, while official announcements from the Hellenic Police are expected