Africrypt founders who stole 70,000 BTC arrested in Zurich, Switzerland

Source (in German):

https://www.20min.ch/story/drei-milliarden-krimi-endet-in-zuerich-krypto-brueder-festgenommen-930342327665

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Translation:

Three billion crime thriller ends in Zurich – crypto brothers arrested

They promised to invest and manage their investors' money in Bitcoin. Then they are said to have faked a hack and disappeared. They were arrested in Zurich.

That's what it's about

- Crypto trading platform Africrypt invested its investors' money in Bitcoin.

- When the currency hit a new high in 2021, the platform was allegedly hacked.

- Shortly thereafter, there was no trace of the founding brothers until they reappeared in Zurich.

Anyone who would like to benefit from the rising Bitcoin price but does not have much knowledge of cryptocurrency can pay their money to Africrypt and have it managed by the crypto trading platform - according to the promise of the founders.

When the US car company Tesla invested in Bitcoin in February 2021 and thus drove up the value of the currency, the founding brothers Raees and Ameer Cajee from Johannesburg managed 70,000 Bitcoin on behalf of their customers. In April of the same year, these were worth almost four billion Swiss francs.

When the bitcoins were "hacked", the crypto traders disappeared

But investors couldn't be happy about that for long - according to Ameer Cajee, the platform was hacked. However, the investors should not inform the police, that would only hinder the processing. According to current investigations, however, the brothers faked the hack and they disappeared with the money. Their trail was lost in Dubai.

Two months later, they rented two lockers in Zurich, as reported by "Switzerland at the weekend". In the compartments they deposited so-called hardware wallets, i.e. devices on which the keys to their Bitcoin assets are located. The public prosecutor got wind of it and opened criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering.

One of the brothers released again

In November 2021, investigators ambushed the suspected crypto scammers and arrested them at their lockers. One of the brothers spent six months in custody and was then released on the condition that he deposit CHF 300,000 as security, hand in his passport and undertake to stay in Switzerland.

Cajee defended himself against these conditions and went all the way to the federal court, which has now dismissed his complaint in a judgment. For a rich person, having to stay in Switzerland longer than planned is not a disproportionate encroachment on their freedom.

The public prosecutor's office is only investigating because of the hiding operation in Switzerland. The South African public prosecutor's office is responsible for the predicate offense and has discontinued its investigation, according to a letter. The brothers had offered some investors a settlement payment, which is why they withdrew their ads.