Brazil ‘Crypto Scam Firm Workers’ Empty Headquarters
“Employees” of the Brazilian company at the center of the crypto fraud allegations have been filmed apparently on their way to remove evidence – under the cover of night.
Brazilian media outlet Livecoins shared a video showing “at least two people” entering the company, Braiscompany.
The offices have been closed by police as part of the investigation.
The video – taken from CCTV footage – shows a man removing a barrier, allowing the driver of a pickup truck to enter the Braiscompany premises in São Paulo.
The time on the video shows that the people entered the premises on March 26 at almost 9 p.m.
The media outlet explained that the people then proceeded to “remove objects” from the building, adding that the offices were now completely emptied.
The report suggested that the individuals’ apparent familiarity with the website would indicate that they were employees.
Braiscompany’s business went nationwide as the operators promised investors “fixed income” in the “cryptocurrency market”.
A couple named Antônio and Fabrícia Ais were its apparent masterminds, the media noted.
But at the end of 2022, a number of investors began to complain that they could not withdraw their money from the firm’s platform.
Many of the “brokers” have defended Braiscompany, insisting that reports of fraud are far-fetched.
However, the media wrote:
“With the closure of the firm’s headquarters, everything seems to indicate that the business is over for good.”
Brazilian ‘Crypto Scam’ Company – What Do We Know?
Critics claim the firm is a front for a “financial pyramid”, while a number of legal cases have been launched from customers wanting their money back.
But the media said it had evidence that the company “continues to abandon the properties it used”.
The Department of Federal Police had reportedly “sealed off the property,” but “every indication is that it is now empty,” Livecoins wrote.
Launched in 2019, the firm claimed its business was based on the supposed “lease” of crypto assets – with “members” receiving fixed monthly payments.
But warning signs began to emerge when it became indirectly implicated in a 2020 fraud investigation.
More serious problems reportedly began in November 2022, when Braiscompany “began delaying customer withdrawals for the first time.”
Withdrawal-related problems intensified in December. And by January 2023, “none of the company’s customers were able to receive their regular monthly payments.”
Police launched a major investigation into the firm in February, but its “main managers” are still at large.
Earlier this month, police cracked down on a suspected crypto-powered sexual extortion ring.