Top Five Most Wanted Cryptocriminals
2022 was the biggest year for hacks and attacks on cryptocurrency projects, with over $3.8 billion stolen last year. Here’s a look at 5 such criminals who are on the run and wanted by the FBI, Interpol or other law enforcement agencies.
Cryptocrime is on the rise. In fact, 2022 was the biggest year for hacks and attacks on cryptocurrency projects, with over $3.8 billion stolen last year. That’s an 18 percent increase from the $3.2 billion stolen in 2021. One of the reasons cryptocriminals are so successful is the ever-increasing number of ways they use to defraud investors. What’s worse is that sometimes these wicked people orchestrate a crime and get away with it. They go into hiding or change their identity and use their poor means to live a comfortable life.
Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies are trying their best to uncover their tracks and bring them to justice. Here’s a look at 5 such criminals who are on the run and wanted by the FBI, Interpol or other law enforcement agencies.
Crypto queen Ruja Ignatova
Ruja Ignatova is responsible for one of the biggest scams in cryptocurrency history, the OneCoin Ponzi scheme. Launched in 2014, the project promised lucrative returns and caught the attention of millions of investors. By 2017, when the coffers were sufficiently filled, Ruja and her co-conspirator, Sebastian Greenwood, absconded with investor funds. All told, the crypto queen is believed to have escaped with nearly $4 billion. Ignatova has been on the run since.
In June 2022, the FBI added Ignatova to its top 10 most wanted list. And now, after 5 years of chasing shadows, the authorities have finally made a break in the case. This is after Ignatova was named in a property document for the sale of a $13.6 million Penthouse in Kensington, England. Therefore, the crypto queen’s luck may have finally run out and she may soon be apprehended by the police.
Do Kwon
It’s almost a year since the Terra meltdown. But the man behind the project and its $60 billion collapse, Do Kwon, is still nowhere to be found. In September 2022, South Korean officials issued a warrant for his arrest. At the time, Do Kwon was believed to be in Singapore. However, a city-state official released a statement saying he was no longer in the country and had fled to Dubai. By the end of the month, Interpol joined the search for Do Kwon, issuing a red notice for his arrest.
Through it all, however, Do Kwon insisted that he was not on the run, but refrained from giving away his position due to “security reasons”. Now he is believed to be hiding somewhere in Serbia. Armed with this information, South Korea sent two officials to the Balkan nation to find the disgraced CEO and bring him to justice. Whether he is found or not, only time will tell.
The Cajee Brothers
Ameer and Raees Cajee were allegedly behind one of the biggest crypto scams of 2021. The two brothers set up a cryptocurrency exchange in Johannesburg, South Africa called Africrypt in 2016. However, in April 2021 they stated that the exchange had been attacked by Ukrainian hackers, who most of the investors’ funds. They then claimed that their family began receiving death threats, forcing them to flee the country.
However, after much scrutiny, users and law enforcement officials were led to believe that the entire operation was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme and that the Cajee brothers had allegedly made off with nearly $3.6 billion. The brothers have been in hiding ever since, and their whereabouts are still unknown.
The Lazarus Group
Although this is not a person, it is probably one of the most sought after entities in the crypto space. According to a UN report, North Korean hackers stole between $630 million and $1 billion in crypto last year, and the Lazarus Group is responsible for a large portion of this amount. Researchers have also attributed several cyber attacks to the group between 2010 and 2021.
A computer programmer named Park Jin Hyok is believed to be the leader of this criminal outfit. He has the unenviable achievement of making the FBI’s most wanted list, along with other alleged members of the group, including two hackers known as Kim Il and Jon Chang Hyok.
The creators of the Squid Game token
Launched in October 2020, the Squid Games token was a crypto project that was inspired by a popular South Korean Netflix series of the same name. Thanks to the popularity of the show, the token was able to catch the attention of investors. The price rose from $0.01 to almost $2900 in just one week.
But when investors tried to realize their gains, they found they were unable to withdraw. When investors took to Twitter to air these issues, the project’s website went offline, its social media handles disappeared, and the creators disappeared with all the investor funds. The total loot is believed to be around $3.8 million, and the founders of the project have yet to be traced.
Conclusion
Cryptocrime is on the rise. Therefore, investors and traders must be vigilant. Always look for smart contract audits, KYC checks and other parameters before investing in a project. These simple steps can save you from falling victim to crypto criminals like those mentioned above.
(Editing by: Anushka Sharma)
