Chinese Police Arrest 27 Plus Token Masterminds

by Arnab Shome
  • The Ponzi scheme has reportedly defrauded $5.7 billion from the investors.
Chinese Police Arrest 27 Plus Token Masterminds
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Chinese police have arrested as many as 27 major suspects related to Plus Token, one of the major cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes involving billions of dollars.

As reported by multiple Chinese media, the arrests were made by the country’s Ministry of Public Security. Additionally, another 82 core members of the Ponzi scheme were also arrested by the top police force.

A billion-dollar crypto Ponzi scheme

Plus Token had swindled an estimated amount of 40 billion Chinese yuan (around $5.7 billion) from the investors, a local report highlighted.

Though initially, the Ponzi scheme was expected to have defrauded around $2.9 billion, many analysts pointed out that the amount to be too small.

With over 2 million investors fell for the fraudulent crypto scheme, Plus Token is said to have over 3,000 layers since last year. A majority of these victims are concentrated in China and South Korea. However, the scheme still has a major impact on a global scale.

Though the recent arrests were seen as a major achievement by the Chinese police, the details are not public yet, and it is not clear where the authorities nabbed the perpetrators. The 109 perpetrators had also reportedly fled the country earlier.

In August 2019, Chinese law enforcement arrested six people related to the Plus Token Ponzi scheme but revealed that the primary suspects were still at large. Then, the Affiliates were deported to China from Vanuatu, one of the alleged operational hubs of the scheme.

Many Blockchain analyzers are actively tracking the proceeds from the scheme kept as crypto holdings. In March, Ergo, one of such companies, revealed that 13,000 Bitcoins, then valued around $10.2 million, kept in wallets associated with Plus Token were sent to a crypto mixer to erase the transactional history associated with them.

Chinese police have arrested as many as 27 major suspects related to Plus Token, one of the major cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes involving billions of dollars.

As reported by multiple Chinese media, the arrests were made by the country’s Ministry of Public Security. Additionally, another 82 core members of the Ponzi scheme were also arrested by the top police force.

A billion-dollar crypto Ponzi scheme

Plus Token had swindled an estimated amount of 40 billion Chinese yuan (around $5.7 billion) from the investors, a local report highlighted.

Though initially, the Ponzi scheme was expected to have defrauded around $2.9 billion, many analysts pointed out that the amount to be too small.

With over 2 million investors fell for the fraudulent crypto scheme, Plus Token is said to have over 3,000 layers since last year. A majority of these victims are concentrated in China and South Korea. However, the scheme still has a major impact on a global scale.

Though the recent arrests were seen as a major achievement by the Chinese police, the details are not public yet, and it is not clear where the authorities nabbed the perpetrators. The 109 perpetrators had also reportedly fled the country earlier.

In August 2019, Chinese law enforcement arrested six people related to the Plus Token Ponzi scheme but revealed that the primary suspects were still at large. Then, the Affiliates were deported to China from Vanuatu, one of the alleged operational hubs of the scheme.

Many Blockchain analyzers are actively tracking the proceeds from the scheme kept as crypto holdings. In March, Ergo, one of such companies, revealed that 13,000 Bitcoins, then valued around $10.2 million, kept in wallets associated with Plus Token were sent to a crypto mixer to erase the transactional history associated with them.

About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab Shome
  • 6251 Articles
  • 79 Followers
About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab is an electronics engineer-turned-financial editor. He entered the industry covering the cryptocurrency market for Finance Magnates and later expanded his reach to forex as well. He is passionate about the changing regulatory landscape on financial markets and keenly follows the disruptions in the industry with new-age technologies.
  • 6251 Articles
  • 79 Followers

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