According to a New Zealand police announcement, a Wellington man has been arrested in Auckland on suspicion of participating in a global cryptocurrency fraud operation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. The criminal group stole $265 million (NZD 450 million) worth of cryptocurrency from seven victims and subsequently laundered it through multiple platforms between March and August 2024.
New Zealand police said that in the past three days, search warrants have been executed in Auckland, Wellington, and California, arresting several people, including one in New Zealand. Thirteen people are facing charges. The US Department of Justice has filed charges against the Wellington man under US federal law, accusing him of extortion and blackmail (RICO), conspiracy to commit telecommunications fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The man appeared in Auckland District Court today and was temporarily prohibited from disclosing his name. He has now been released on bail. He will appear again in Auckland District Court on July 3, 2025.
Previously, the US Department of Justice indicted 12 suspects suspected of committing $263 million in cryptocurrency crimes, accusing them of participating in a criminal network organized by the mastermind Malone Lam. The gang committed crimes through social engineering fraud, database intrusion, and physical theft of hardware wallets, among which Lam was personally charged with a single fraud of 230 million US dollars. Currently, 10 defendants have been arrested, and 2 accomplices in Dubai are still at large. The indictment shows that the division of labor in the gang includes target screening, telephone fraud, money laundering, and on-site theft. Lam once remotely monitored the victim's iCloud data and directed his accomplices to break into the house for theft. According to records from August 2024, the gang stole 4100 bitcoins (worth 385.4 million US dollars at the time) through P2P fraud.
