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24 June 2021 01:13 GMT

The South African cryptocurrency exchange ceased operations in April. Its founders then claimed to be victims of ‘hacking’.

Brothers Amir and Reese KaziThe founders of Cape Town, the South African-based crypto exchange African Crypt, reported last week that $ 3.6 billion had disappeared with the bitcoins owned by their platform users, according to local media Independent Online (IOL) E ITWeb.

African Crypt stopped working two months ago. Amir and Reese, aged 17 and 20, respectively, alleged that the suspension of activities on their platform was ‘hacking’ and asked clients not to take legal action against them. “It is understandable that clients can proceed legally, but we urge you to accept that alone. The recovery process will be delayed“They announced in April.

In the immediate aftermath of that announcement, investors became more skeptical as they were discouraged from filing lawsuits. The fact that both brothers stopped replying to messages and became available did not inspire confidence.

Some investors have turned to the services of legal teams from private companies Hanecom Attorneys, Due to a possible fraud, by the end of April a Clearance process Temporary Crypto Exchange at the request of a score of investors.

‘Transfers on the Dark Web and other inaccuracies

Hanecom lawyers who investigated African cryptocurrencies found that money was transferred from South African digital wallets and accounts through ‘dark web’ tumblers and ‘mixers’, which led to severe asset segregation and in practice Can not be found.

According to the company, the fall of the crypto exchange was the result of a ‘hack’, but there was an anomaly: between April 9 and 13, the same delivery address was used to deliver funds, and in January it was used for AfricanRip ”s current operations. “Therefore, a ‘hack’ as a source of disbursement of funds,” Seems out of place Under these circumstances, ”said Darren Hanecom, the company’s founder.

Additionally, AfricanRipt’s own employees would lose access to the backend of the system. Alleged ‘hack’ a week ago, Without access to client balances on the platform.

The formal investigation into the African crypto case is hampering South African financial authorities No jurisdiction Because cryptocurrencies are not recognized as economic products of the country from a legal point of view.

Meanwhile, Amir and Reese Kazi are believed to have fled UK, The country where Hanecom’s attorneys found a transfer related to his business before the collapse of the crypto exchange.

Crime in the world of cryptocurrencies

According to a report CipherTrace, Added major cryptocurrency thefts and ‘hacks’ and similar scams by the end of April this year 2 432 million.

Although these figures are lower than in previous years, they now represent ‘hacks’ related to decentralized finance – i.e. the absence of intermediaries such as banks. More than 60% of the total ‘hacks’ Theft represents a 25% increase from 2020. A year ago, in 2019, these methods were basically non-existent, the report says.