They Stole $14 Million in Crypto: Caught on the Amalfi Coast

Staff of the State Police of the Postal Police Service and Cyber ​​Security, of the Cyber ​​Security Operations Center of Napoli and the Cyber ​​Security Operations Section of Salernotogether with officers from the Directorate of Judicial Police of the French National Police, carried out two European arrest warrants and four search warrants local and personal issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Roma against four foreigners belonging to a criminal organization dedicated to computer crimes and money laundering.

The activity carried out on Italian territory was the result of international cooperation requested following an investigation carried out by the French judicial police, which brought to light the existence of a criminal organization capable of stealing cryptocurrenciesfor a value of approximately 14 million dollarsthrough a cyber attack, launched against an exchange based in the Cayman Islands, characterized by great technical complexity and a very high level of sophistication. The investigations carried out by the French authorities to track down the suspects have provided initial clues about the possible presence of the same on Italian territorya circumstance that required the activation of the usual channels of international police cooperation. The consequent activity by the Postal Police, carried out with targeted technical services and numerous stakeouts and shadowing, allowed all the suspects to be located inside a luxury villa in the province of Salerno.

The reconstruction of the movements of the suspects allowed us to ascertain that they had already been in Italy for several weeks and that they had stayed in luxury villas in Sardinia, Elba Island e Amalfi Coastfrequented fine restaurants, rented numerous private flights, luxury boats and high-powered cars with drivers. The two recipients of the arrest warrants were taken to the Salerno prison, while the other two members of the criminal association were investigated at liberty. At the end of the activities, codes and private keys for access to virtual cryptocurrency wallets, ledger keys, as well as various computer devices were seized, with subsequent validation by the Salerno Public Prosecutor’s Office. The investigative findings gathered have made it possible to corroborate the circumstantial framework outlined by the French authorities during the preliminary investigations.