Two brothers have disappeared with $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin

[Cryptoshops]

This was even backed by a a bank


Two men in South Africa could have just pulled off the largest cryptocurrency heist in history.

Ameer Cajee and his younger brother, Raees Cajee, started a new digital coin in 2019 called Africrypt.
Cryptocurrency had been around for a couple of years, but this continent-specific coin attracted a lot of attention and loads of people invested their money hoping to make a quick buck.

The coin rocketed up in value and during the April peak of this year it was worth an incredible $4 billion.

Now the Cajee brothers have disappeared with the money and can't be found anywhere.


When the digital currency reached its limit a few months ago, Ameer told everyone that Africrypt had been hacked and their accounts, wallets and nodes had been compromised, according to Business Insider.

The 20-year-old, who is the company's chief operating officer, bizarrely told their clients not to report this issue to authorities so they could handle the hack and said authorities would prevent them from getting to the bottom of the issue.

While many heeded the warning, the Independent Online reports there were a few customers who thought the whole thing was a little fishy and contacted Hanekom Attorneys.

At the same time, all the Africrypt had been transferred into 69,000 Bitcoins.

Hanekom Attorneys told Bloomberg: "We were immediately suspicious as the announcement implored investors not to take legal action. Africrypt employees lost access to the back-end platforms seven days before the alleged hack."

A South African police unit was called in when the lawyers couldn't get hold of the brothers.

However, the nature of cryptocurrency means it's exceedingly difficult to trace and work out how to prosecute.

South Africa's Finance Sector Conduct Authority, the country's financial institutions regulator, said cryptocurrency-related matters aren't in their jurisdiction. Therefore, the hunt is on to find the authority responsible for tracking down this sort of crime.
FNB, one of South Africa's big five banks and funded Africrypt, has denied any sort of responsibility for the missing brothers and currency.

In a statement to the Independent, FNB risk spokesperson Nadiah Maharaj said: "FNB once again confirms that it does not have a banking relationship with Africrypt. Due to client confidentiality, FNB cannot provide any information on specific bank accounts."

It highlights the ongoing concern related to cryptocurrencies and their currently unregulated market.


https://www.ladbible.com/news/latest-two-brothers-have-disappeared-with-36-billion-worth-of-bitcoin-20210624?source=lboz&fbclid=IwAR0rGNO3BhEOcmsXhulOKaOI6Y5naHJ_vni_Kcpy7F_Y9tM4Vi1TlltQBBI

[Poker Player]

It is a pity that on the one hand this kind of news gives cryptocurrencies a bad name and on the other hand how some poor people have been scammed. What we should take away from this is the "not your keys...".

[AB de Royse777]

That's what happen when you invest in a centralized shitcoin. My condolence to the people who lost everything in this scam.

PS: Just checked on CMC. This Africrypt does not even exist there.

[Lorence.xD]

It is a pity that on the one hand this kind of news gives cryptocurrencies a bad name and on the other hand how some poor people have been scammed. What we should take away from this is the "not your keys...".

This is a premeditated plan of exit scam, they want people to have second thoughts about how it's coincidental that they disappear while having their exchange getting scammed recently. This is the problem for many people, they don't seem to understand the idea of "not your keys, not your coins" and they trust wholeheartedly their money in exchanges that aren't even remotely reputable or big.

[Cryptoshops]

It is a pity that on the one hand this kind of news gives cryptocurrencies a bad name and on the other hand how some poor people have been scammed. What we should take away from this is the "not your keys...".

Can you imagine if Coinbase and Binance did something like this ?  I have crypto in both which I use for staking.  I would lose a lot of money as would millions of others. Makes me pretty nervous tbh lol

[Poker Player]

Can you imagine if Coinbase and Binance did something like this ?  I have crypto in both which I use for staking.  I would lose a lot of money as would millions of others. Makes me pretty nervous tbh lol

In the case of Coinbase and Binance I see it as much more improbable, but the phrase "not your keys..." does not only apply to the fact that you can be scammed. Coinbase may decide to freeze your account for legal reasons, for example. If you have your keys, you can go abroad with your coins and nobody can freeze them.

[Rikafip]

PS: Just checked on CMC. This Africrypt does not even exist there.

This Africrypt is not an actual exchange, but more like one of those ponzi trading platforms that uses "Artifical Inteligence" to bring their investors unrealistically high daily ROI ( I read somewhere that it was something like 10% daily which should have been a huge red flag for anyone thinking about investing. But as we know, people suck at these things.

Few quotes from archived version of their website. Pay attention to when their CEO allegedly learned about bitcoin. By the way, he is 17 years old now

We are an investment firm exclusively focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

Our Artificial intelligence driven trading platform is a world class trading platform that uses complex deep learning , machine learning algorithms to effectively and efficiently trade automatically without human intervention.

Africrypt’s Founder and CEO, Raees Cajee first learned of Bitcoin in 2009 while watching the news with his father and ever since he’s been hooked.

[Cryptoshops]

Can you imagine if Coinbase and Binance did something like this ?  I have crypto in both which I use for staking.  I would lose a lot of money as would millions of others. Makes me pretty nervous tbh lol

In the case of Coinbase and Binance I see it as much more improbable, but the phrase "not your keys..." does not only apply to the fact that you can be scammed. Coinbase may decide to freeze your account for legal reasons, for example. If you have your keys, you can go abroad with your coins and nobody can freeze them.

Yes it it very unlikely but you just never know. If it ever did happen there is no way to  get any of the money back and I think its this which makes people very weary of investing or using Crypto. With banks if you loose money through a scam they normally give all or some of it back.


Here is an opportunity for a  new coin to be used as insurance for crypto scams

[Bttzed03]

~ South Africa's Finance Sector Conduct Authority, the country's financial institutions regulator, said cryptocurrency-related matters aren't in their jurisdiction. Therefore, the hunt is on to find the authority responsible for tracking down this sort of crime.

Weak! Where have they been all these years when bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are making headlines? Even if there are no specific policies/rules/regulations about crypto as a currency, they could still act on this as it's still about investment.

[pakhitheboss]

A lot of greedy as well as innocent people lost their money with this project. This is why I sometimes feel regulation in the crypto sphere can be helpful. This incident reminded me of many incidents same as the present one happening in the past. People fall for such scams as they think they will become rich in just a few years but they forget they will become poor if the scammers leave with their money.

[AB de Royse777]

This Africrypt is not an actual exchange, but more like one of those ponzi trading platforms that uses "Artifical Inteligence" to bring their investors unrealistically high daily ROI ( I read somewhere that it was something like 10% daily which should have been a huge red flag for anyone thinking about investing. But as we know, people suck at these things.

So apparently those greedy people caught on a Ponzi scheme and lost their money. Greed and fear are the best asset for scammers.

By the way, he is 17 years old now

Is he publicly known? If yes, then he can not hide anything and will need to accept the consequences.

[Rikafip]

So apparently those greedy people caught on a Ponzi scheme and lost their money. Greed and fear are the best asset for scammers.

Yep. People tend to think that crypto is some kind of magic money after hearing people getting rich so for them 10% daily ROI through "advanced artificial intelligence systems" seems ok.

Is he publicly known? If yes, then he can not hide anything and will need to accept the consequences.

Yeah, those two brothers behind this scheme are well known so hopefully they pay the consequences.


https://www.businessinsider.co.za/behind-the-africrypt-bitcoin-exit-scam-allegedly-run-by-south-african-brothers-ameer-cajee-and-raees-cajee-2021-6

[swogerino]

Sad story but that is the human nature by default we are greedy and if this greed is fed further then these things happen.The lesson to be learned here is to only invest in major cryptos which has been around for years and not fall for the bait of new "promising shining coins" as the end results usually will be like this story.

[lepbagong]

Sad story but that is the human nature by default we are greedy and if this greed is fed further then these things happen.The lesson to be learned here is to only invest in major cryptos which has been around for years and not fall for the bait of new "promising shining coins" as the end results usually will be like this story.

it is clear that this is a very sensational story and very sad for those who have invested their funds there. what do you say that greed is a human trait that already exists and can do things that are not commendable if given the opportunity to do so because there is no control from others.

I agree this will definitely be a useful lesson for all those who really want to invest in crypto, especially because something always overshadows everyone who wants to invest not being observant and analyzing properly, because they can fall into the trap of greedy people like them. it is better to invest in something that has been known and tested so far and is widely available if you want to analyze it properly first.

[CryptoStar19]

Given the pseudonymous nature of most cryptocurrencies and the possibility of transfers to privacy coins or transfers through tumblers and mixers, this sort of thing will remain a risk for the foreseeable future. One way to mitigate this risk is to invest only in the reputable projects and coins and even then, like others have pointed out "not your keys, not your coin".

[Lucius]

Yeah, those two brothers behind this scheme are well known so hopefully they pay the consequences.

Only if they make a mistake and reveal themselves. As things look now, they planned this very well and I have no doubt that they had an exit scam in the beginning - and then they had just enough time to cover up all traces and disappear with new identities, maybe even with new faces - because with 69 000 BTC is not hard to buy a whole new life anywhere in the world.

Every day I wonder if there is an end to human stupidity and naivety, but these two human qualities seem to be as infinite as the universe. What's worse in the whole story, I believe that at least 50% of those who lost their money in this scam will find themselves in the same situation again.

[Rikafip]

Only if they make a mistake and reveal themselves. As things look now, they planned this very well and I have no doubt that they had an exit scam in the beginning - and then they had just enough time to cover up all traces and disappear with new identities, maybe even with new faces - because with 69 000 BTC is not hard to buy a whole new life anywhere in the world.

It's true, that amount of money can buy you pretty much anything, but one of the questions is whether they will have enough constraint not to go on the spending spree, given their young age, and the amount of money they managed to scam. All is good as along as you are living just an ordinary life, but when you start buying luxury stuff, it may catch someone's attention. If I have to put my money on the outcome of all this, I would say that they will be caught eventually.

Every day I wonder if there is an end to human stupidity and naivety, but these two human qualities seem to be as infinite as the universe. What's worse in the whole story, I believe that at least 50% of those who lost their money in this scam will find themselves in the same situation again.

Worst of all, people that lost money this way tend to blame bitcoin, instead of themselves.

[Yaunfitda]

This is a ponzi scheme from the very beginning, so I don't know why investors still fall for this kind of trap. Although I must admit that people are greedy and this is the main reason that they don't think logically when making their investments.

So probably a exit scam, but for sure, if either one of the brothers makes a mistake, they can still be trace back and hopefully investors can get back their money and learn a very expensive lessons.

[Rikafip]

if either one of the brothers makes a mistake, they can still be trace back and hopefully investors can get back their money and learn a very expensive lessons.

That's the thing, I think that it is easier to steal that amount of money (not that is easy at all) than remain hidden. You really have to able to control yourself not to spend that kind of money. On top of it, those are basically still kids, as one is 17 yo and other is probably not much older. So yeah, my guess it that they will be caught eventually, if there is enough effort put to find them.

[Obito]

This is a ponzi scheme from the very beginning, so I don't know why investors still fall for this kind of trap. Although I must admit that people are greedy and this is the main reason that they don't think logically when making their investments.

So probably a exit scam, but for sure, if either one of the brothers makes a mistake, they can still be trace back and hopefully investors can get back their money and learn a very expensive lessons.

How is it a Ponzi though? I mean Ponzi gets it's money from a continuous influx of investor? They're an exchange so I don't get how they are a Ponzi. I might be wrong though which means that if it is a Ponzi then probably they did a good job disguising it to look like a real one for that many investors to pour their money in the exchange. I don't think that they will be tracked, pretty sure that this exit scam is premeditated and they know how to not get tracked already.