The famous pyramid was closed in an operation by the Federal Police in 2019.
According to information from the U.S. courts, which seize millions of a famous Brazilian pyramid, the amount will be sent to Brazil. The company would have operated in the South American country without license and injured thousands of investors.
The case gains strength after innumerable clients of this financial pyramid have been in agony for over a year. Closed by the Federal Police, MPF and IRS, the pyramid offered income with Bitcoin to its investors.
Like every pyramid scheme, it used leadership to capture new clients, using the artifice called multi-level marketing. However, even with the coup closed and thousands of items being seized, the blunt to investors still remained.
The scheme took place mainly in the city of Novo Hamburgo, headquarters of the pyramid in Brazil.
U.S. Department of Justice seizes Bitcoin of Brazilian financial pyramid, $24 million
A financial pyramid scheme that has operated in Brazil in recent years has taken a “hard blow” this Wednesday (4). This is because, in a collaboration agreement between countries, the American justice system learns about $24 million Bitcoin from Brazilian fraud.
Officially closed in May 2019, with the so-called “Operation Egypto”, Indeal would have raised at least $ 200 million in Brazil. The money would have been raised from the pockets of thousands of Brazilians who believed in the business. With Unick, Indeal is one of the most famous financial pyramids in Brazil, both based in the South.
By promising income above the market with Bitcoin, this pyramid drew attention. After an extensive investigation by Brazilian justice, the deal was closed. At the time, the main leaders of the Indeal pyramid were arrested, being one of the main Marcos Antônio Fagundes.
Aimed at one of Indeal’s leaders, Marcos spent a few months in prison. Today he is at liberty after the STJ decision in favor of a habeas corpus request.
Even so, Marcos would have $24 million in a U.S. cryptomorphic brokerage. With the dollar price today, the value would give about R$ 135 million. By cooperating with a request from Brazilian justice, the value was seized, with the help of the brokerage house, and will be available to Brazil.
Value should return to Brazil and help to reimburse customers of the old pyramid
Indeal has caused countless losses to investors who believed in the miraculous promises of the business. Even another pyramid closed by the police had invested in Indeal, that is, the business captured several investors between 2017 and 2019.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the order came from a Brazilian court of law. As the countries have a cooperation agreement, a U.S. court granted the request and issued an order to seize any Bitcoin in the U.S. on behalf of Marcos Antônio Fagundes.
“The order of apprehension was obtained in accordance with an official request from the government of Brazil, made under the Treaty between the United States of America and the Federative Republic of Brazil on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, for assistance in connection with a major cryptomime fraud scheme in a Brazilian Federal Police investigation called “Operation Egypto. The Brazilian authorities estimate that more than $200 million were obtained through this scheme, by which more than tens of thousands of Brazilians may have been defrauded,” quotes an excerpt from the DOJ
The United States did not want to publicly inform the name of the brokerage house in which Marcos had deposited the money of Indeal’s clients. Even so, the amount is protected by the FBI and should be sent to Brazil, which will probably proceed to reimburse the amounts invested by the clients.
Justice had already auctioned luxury cars from the pyramid, but little had been recovered.
The luxury car auction ended in April and justice had already recovered $ 1 million to pay victims of Indeal. With the new amount blocked, more transfers should be made to clients of the old famous Brazilian financial pyramid.
The DOJ publication about the case happened this Wednesday (4). However, it was not clear when and how the values will be sent to Brazil.
The United States declared yet that Indeal has injured countless people in its fraud. Indeal’s scam may exceed R$ 1 billion, even so the amount apprehended should already help some investors after more than a year of Operation Egypto.