30s Summary

Japanese police have apprehended 18 scam artists in a world-first instance of Monero transactions being analysed and used to catch criminals. Analysis of around 900 transactions led to the arrest of the gang who caused approximately $670,000 in damages through their fraudulent activities. The group’s leader, Yuta Kobayashi, was arrested on charges of money laundering and computer fraud.

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In a first for the world of cryptocurrency, a group of 18 scam artists were nabbed in Japan, thanks to the analysis of Monero transactions.

The Japanese police looked into around 900 transactions involving Monero – a type of cryptocurrency that was used by the scam gang. The crooks caused damage worth around 100 million yen ($670,000) with their fraudulent activities.

Local news outlet Nikkei reported that this was the very first time that law enforcement in Japan had used Monero transactions to catch a group of criminals.

The ringleader of the group, a guy named Yuta Kobayashi, was arrested along with the rest of the crew. They had been laundering money using Monero and committing computer fraud.

The authorities had been investigating this gang since August. This was right after the National Police Agency started a special unit to deal with cybercrime, which is on the rise in Japan.

As updates come in about this ongoing story, we’ll keep you in the loop.

Source: Cointelegraph