The Special Antitrust Unit in Verona has seized around 93 social pages and seven websites that were promoting fraudulent cryptocurrency scams to the public.
According to a report by Coinidol.com, the seized platforms were even pushing the potential victims to invest in projects including OneCoin by promising massive returns in a short period.
The authorities also arrested five perpetrators residing in three provinces of the country and charged them for fraud. In addition, the public prosecutor’s office in Rome charged a group of six promoters for their involvement in the legal representation of a Roman firm promoting fraudulent schemes.
The report also detailed that the fraudsters promoted the crypto schemes on social media, websites, and even used word-of-the-mouth for promotion. They even sold financial training courses bundled with a package of Cryptocurrencies for a minimum price of €100.
Billion-dollar crypto scam
OneCoin is one of the most infamous cryptocurrency scams pulled off so far. Founded in 2014 by Bulgarian entrepreneur Ruja Ignatova, the project managed to raise over $4 billion. Though at first glance, it looks like any other digital asset, a close examination of the business reveals its pyramid-like structure.
According to the US Department of Justice, the company has generated more than $2.5 billion in profits in less than two years.
Authorities in many countries including Singapore and Samoa, issued warnings against OneCoin and also took actions against entities promoting the scheme.
Last month, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) nabbed Konstantin Ignatov, brother of the founder of the fraudulent company. He was acting as the top leader of the business after the disappearance of his sister from public view since 2017.
Recently, Ignatov bail, which was set at a bond of $20 million by a court in the United States, was rejected. If found guilty, he could have to serve a maximum sentence of 20 years.
