After a lengthy investigation, the Vienna State Criminal Investigation Department (LKA) together with the Italian authorities cleared up a large rip-deal scam and seized bitcoins of more than one million (!) euros. So far, a total of 63 rip deals have been discovered across Europe, with damages in the tens of millions.
The latter case makes the criminal machinations of these gangs even more apparent. The perpetrator family acted in Vienna under the guise of a real estate management company, pretending to acquire advertised real estate for a buyer abroad. During the inspection (architect on behalf of the perpetrators) there was talk of financing or commission via cryptocurrencies. In this case, it was bitcoins. When the victim converted the money into bitcoin and handed it over, the fraudulent attack ensued and the money was gone.
Four years in prison
After a lengthy investigation into the current case, Italian detectives were able to arrest a suspect from Austria with Serbian roots at the beginning of this year. There are believed to be six other suspects on the run at this time. The damage amounts to a whopping 1,056,000 euros from crypto rip deals. The Austrian was found guilty of four years in prison at the end of September. Further investigations are underway.
14 arrests in Austria
The investigators of the Vienna State Criminal Investigation Department started the “Rip-Deal Unit Vienna” project in 2020 after tracking down three deals in 2019. The amount of damage at the time was about 645,000 euros. On the medium wave, 14 arrests were made in Austria.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
