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A man has been sentenced to six years in prison for setting up bogus investments and defrauding unwitting victims out of thousands of dinars by converting them to cryptocurrency.
The High Criminal Court yesterday fined the defendant BD105,000 and ruled to confiscate BD75,300 from his assets.
According to the Public Prosecution, the man works for a criminal network and takes investors’ money to convert them into various cryptocurrencies, until it finally reaches the network.
He starts by depositing the money into his bank accounts, then converts it to digital currency on a platform named CoinMENA, to buy a US dollar-pegged coin named USDT. He then reportedly deposits the money into his account on Binance.com, outside Bahrain, and from there sends it to various digital wallets controlled by the so-called criminal network.
The statement added that his unknown bosses supply him with information to these final wallets, and he puts the funds into them after he takes his cut.
Investigations have found that the man received more than BD75,000 from a number of victims, using his connection to investment firms, to promote investment schemes.
He invited people, luring them with promises of profits.
“The defendant received the funds, knowing their true origins, and executed the orders of the head of the criminal operation,” read the statement.
“He admitted to the accusations during prosecution hearings.”
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