You Can Run, But You Can't Hide
Some seriously good news for crypto as the man behind the MTI scandal involving billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin is under lock and key. He has been arrested for using false documents of all things in the state of Goiás ,Brazil. This happened on the 29th December almost a year to the day since he disappeared.
It was only a matter of time that he would be spotted and picked up as staying on the run has to be the most tiresome job in the world. Fortunately for those that were swindled out of their Bitcoin he has only been missing for 12 months and couldn't have spent too much. His wife had told the authorities he had gone to Panama to purchase a forestry plantation, but Brazil is where his flight tickets had taken him.
The police were tipped off by local media and spent 2 days undercover before realising who he really was. They arrested him and found 2 false identity documents along with 6 credit cards. Funny as he hasn't been arrested for his crime of fraud as in South Africa the authorities at first said no crime had been committed as investors had sent him Bitcoin. He was the owner of those Bitcoins as he had the keys to the wallet where they were now held. That has now all changed once Interpol and the FBI got involved.
His downfall was not staying under the radar as up until a few months back had stayed at a cheap hotel in São Paulo before moving to Goiânia, the capital of Goiás. The idiot was wining and dining his girlfriend purchasing a ring valued at over $12 000. A jet and imported high end cars have also been traced back to him which have now been seized. Maybe the tip off was from the wife as she must have been upset as she alone has faced the heat for what he had done. The media sounds like a cover story as looking at the photos Goiás is not a sleepy market town with a few hundred people.
I think this tells you all you need to know as this guy was your average Joe who was not the smartest biscuit in the tin. He was still able to swindle more than 46 000 Bitcoin out of greedy individuals hoping for far more. Today that is worth around $2 billion minus his expenses and pay offs he had to do in order to survive the last 12 months.
With that sort of capital he should have done far better, but in hindsight he is lucky to still be alive. Obviously to be recognised by someone in the media he hasn't done much to change his appearance. South African accent wouldn't have helped his case either as we do kind of stand out when we speak.
This is seriously good news for crypto however as this was FUD we didn't need 12 months ago. Making an example of him would be even better news and maybe with a miracle or two the South African Government will hand back what is owed not scooping it for themselves as that would be a bigger crime in my book.
Hackers, crooks plying their dirty trade in crypto need to fear what comes their way once caught and why we do need certain regulations in place. Not all of it though and just enough to keep everyone protected.
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No doubt it's really a good news to protect the crypto world from fraudsters who have no good intentions to other people involving their damn time and money investing in it.
Yeah, seems like he would have been able to find a place to lie low for a while and then launder off the rest of the money. That would have been the smart play anyway. Maybe change your appearance a bit and open one of those cash businesses.
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1 year on the run with $2 billion in your pocket is an epic fail. I think the wife ratted on him anyways as it just all sounds too fishy and convenient. She was stuck here obviously under observation and they couldn't meet up.
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Yeah, well he had the girlfriend though, so what did he need the wife for. His fault for still keeping in touch with her.
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46 000 Bitcoin. Damn. I would have loved to think that with such amount of money, he could disappear, but it is highly dependent on whether or not he’s smart, which he apparently isn’t.
So what happens to the stolen bitcoins now
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Two things can happen with the stolen Bitcoins. The SA Government stated no crime was committed yet the scheme was illegal. An illegal scheme means everything should be confiscated by the state which will have everyone hopping mad. In this case with the FBI and Interpol involved protecting investors in the States and Europe this may be more difficult to steal. No doubt they will receive some of the bounty through some corrupt scheme they have thought up like penalties. I do expect everyone who foolishly gave money into this scheme will get a decent chunk back.
This guy was a total bone had as who couldn't vanish with $2 billion and believe he was sold out by his wife as that makes more sense. Maybe she suspected he had another woman and spilled the beans.
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