Coinspeaker
Dutch Authorities Arrest ZKasino Scam Suspect, Seize $12.2M
Dutch authorities have made an arrest in connection to the recent scam around the relatively new crypto project ZKasino. The decentralized platform made promises to over 10,000 investors that they may request back their over $33 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) once the protocol went live. However, developers seemingly had other plans. Immediately the project launched on April 20, investors could no longer redeem their bridged ETH.
Meanwhile, The Block reported that “the $33 million users invested has been sent to Lido as the platform attempts to post through what it calls “noise and FUD.”
Authorities Swoop in to Help Victims of Zkasino Scam
A majority of the investors fear that a rug pull might have taken place . The Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) has arrested a 26-year-old male in the ZKasino case. Authorities believe that the man had played a major role in all of the fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering that allegedly took place on the platform.
Not only was the yet-to-be-identified man arrested, a May 3 report published by the FIOD also claims that authorities have already seized over $12.2 million worth of crypto, real estate, and luxury cars in the case. This represents a major breakthrough, which has seen investors lose millions of dollars in digital assets.
Initial promises made by the platform to reimburse investors within a 30-day timeframe have also been exposed as fraudulent. Investigations suggest that the smart contract overseeing the platform never intended to fulfill these commitments.
The suspect’s arrest is the first and only one so far in the ongoing investigation into the ZKasino scam. Whether more arrests will be made remains uncertain, only time will tell. Meanwhile, the suspect’s detention has been extended for an additional 14 days to give investigators more time and opportunity to gather evidence and establish further facts.
As authorities continue to pursue leads and identify individuals involved in the scam taking efforts to recover stolen assets, this swift actions send a clear message that fraudulent activities in the digital asset space will not be tolerated.
