The Zuyzinsky District Court of Moscow has arrested 21-year-old world champion in taekwondo, Russian Emin Chetinbag, and four other individuals. All five are suspected of fraud involving cryptocurrencies, reported the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.
According to the investigation, the organizer of the criminal group, which consisted of several former police officers, found individuals engaged in cryptocurrency transactions and possessing large amounts of cash.
'After that, Chetinbag, taking advantage of the fact that he was well acquainted with the victims, arranged meetings, checked the situation, and informed other group members about their whereabouts,' investigators said.
Former police officers presented themselves to crypto investors as active law enforcement officers and threatened them with imprisonment for 'aiding the financing of terrorist groups,' reports the Investigative Committee. The perpetrators confiscated smartphones from their victims and forced them to transfer cryptocurrency from their accounts on exchanges, promising freedom in return. The total amount of damage is estimated at more than 4 million rubles, the agency reported.
Five suspects were placed in custody as a preventive measure, and another one was declared wanted. All six are accused of exceeding official powers (part 3 of article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code).
Earlier, the main department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that at one of Moscow's airports, police detained a 25-year-old native of Irkutsk, who is suspected of stealing cryptocurrency worth 21.4 million rubles.