Brazil Police Catch ‘Bitcoin Sheikh’ For Stealing Over $766 Million (Report)

Brazil’s federal police have reportedly stopped the operations of a criminal gang led by businessman Francisco Valdevino da Silva, also known as the “Bitcoin Sheikh.”

Authorities claimed the perpetrators defrauded thousands of people in recent years and laundered up to 4 billion Brazilian reals ($766 million).

Another Crypto Ponzi Scheme in Brazil

GloboNews revealed that Brazilian law enforcement agents raided the address of da Silva and many of his partners on suspicion that they were behind a massive crypto scam that targeted thousands of locals and other countries.

Da Silva (known as the “Bitcoin Sheikh”) and his team allegedly ran a dubious digital asset investment platform that promised up to 20% returns to future investors. The criminals lured their victims by assuring them that the entity has a large team of crypto experts committed to delivering profits.

Da Silva and his gang even created their own tokens, which authorities said lacked support or liquidity.

Interestingly, some celebrities were also among the victims, such as model Sasha Meneghel who lost over 230,000 dollars. Brazilian footballers whose names were not made public also made the list.

The investigation, dubbed “Operation Poyais,” determined that the fraudsters laundered digital assets worth $766 million over the past few years. The police confiscated these possessions along with gold bars, luxury cars and expensive watches spread across several addresses in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina and Parana.

Da Silva’s lawyer said the raid was “the usual measure in investigative procedures of this nature.” He also stated that his client is ready to provide clarifications about his activities “to the extent of proving the effective regularity and legality of business operations.”

Brazil also took the “Bitcoin Pharaoh”.

Last summer, Brazil’s federal police cracked down on another fraudulent crypto platform and arrested its leaders. One of them was the infamous Glaidson Acácio dos Santos (known as the “Bitcoin Pharaoh”).

Like the aforementioned case, the trading platform promised huge returns to people willing to invest their savings in it. Nevertheless, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and over 122,000 individuals were duped by the gang.

After lengthy litigation, the Brazilian authorities finally reached a solution. Last month, they ordered dos Santos to repay all defrauded investors and creditors $3.7 billion.