HitBTC has been holding my ETH for 5 YEARS under a fake "AML investigation

[yurakhl]

What happened:

Scammers Profile Link: https://hitbtc.com/


Your username: yurakhl
Amount Scammed: about 6.44137139 ETH
Payment Method: P2P
Proof of Payment: 
Amount   Currency   Hash
6.44137139   eth   0x6ac177be8793f6173ea6f075f36bcf121ba82054f0465d8523e068ee8ba515e6
PM/Chat Logs: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1y_PCarrhybEImdVMQlXgmSI2Eh3FQjet?usp=sharing

Additional Notes:


Hi everyone,
I am posting this as a desperate measure and a severe warning to anyone still keeping their funds on HitBTC.
Four years ago, I deposited some Ethereum into my HitBTC account. Almost immediately, my withdrawals were frozen. Support contacted me, claiming that the ETH was "suspicious" or "stolen" and that they were launching an AML investigation.
I was ready to cooperate and prove the origin of my funds. But here is the catch: it has been 5 YEARS.
For 60 months, support has been giving me the exact same copy-paste replies: "The investigation is still ongoing, please be patient." They refuse to provide any proof, any deadlines, or any legal documents (like a court order) that would legally allow them to freeze my assets for half a decade.
It is obvious that there is no real investigation. They are simply using KYC/AML as an excuse to confiscate user funds. I have multiple tickets over the years proving this endless loop.
HitBTC Support, if you are reading this, my ticket number is #
•   1545238
•   1665366
•   1649617
•   681645
•   505944
•   1417683
•   1404317
•   1410887
•   1405352
]. I demand a public explanation of why an AML check takes 4 years without a court order.
Has anyone else been in this situation with them? Did you manage to get your crypto back, or is it a lost cause? Please upvote for visibility so others don't fall into this trap.


 

[coupable]

I demand a public explanation of why an AML check takes 4 years without a court order.

I regret to inform you that you will not get any answer from them, neither here nor anywhere else, because they don't have any officially accredited representation anywhere. It's a scam service.

Has anyone else been in this situation with them?

Many users lost their money in this scam service, especially users from countries they know they can't file a complaint against them. It's a selective scam.

Did you manage to get your crypto back, or is it a lost cause?

It is a lost cause. Strange that you didn't realize this for along 5 years.

Please upvote for visibility so others don't fall into this trap.

Thanks for your good willings. This is the best you can do.

[albon]

It is obvious that there is no real investigation. They are simply using KYC/AML as an excuse to confiscate user funds. I have multiple tickets over the years proving this endless loop.

I agree with you. The platform’s reputation and user reviews strongly support your claims.

Many had their funds frozen under AML/KYC policies without clear explanations or evidence. Even users who provided all the required documents often didn’t get their issues resolved. This clearly gives the platform a very poor reputation in this regard. I’m sorry for your loss especially considering it was in ETH which has significantly increased in value since 2022.

I hope that your topic will be a reference for many to avoid this platform, and always do proper research before trusting any exchange.

Has anyone else been in this situation with them? Did you manage to get your crypto back, or is it a lost cause? Please upvote for visibility so others don't fall into this trap.

Be cautious of recovery services or anyone who contacts you claiming they can help get your funds back as they are scammers, so do not trust them.

[logfiles]

hey are simply using KYC/AML as an excuse to confiscate user funds. I have multiple tickets over the years proving this endless loop.

This is what they have been doing for ages. The endless and impossible KYC verification is designed to make customers give up so they can steal the funds

I demand a public explanation of why an AML check takes 4 years without a court order.

That certainly won't be possible here. They even abandoned the forum. This is their current bad reputation - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=194708

Has anyone else been in this situation with them? Did you manage to get your crypto back, or is it a lost cause? Please upvote for visibility so others don't fall into this trap.

Probably a lost cause. So many people have been in a similar situation as yours with no solution at all. I don't remember any one of the complainants every getting back their money

See what comes up in the scam accusation board - https://bitlist.co/search?content=HitBTC&board_id=83&limit=20&sort_by=date_desc

[Coyster]

Another HitBTC victim, doesn't surprise people who have been here long enough. Just like Freewallet, HitBTC has been selectively scamming their customers for years, and here is the kicker, they do it with impunity, that's they just get away with it.

That said, the sad truth is you are not getting your money back from them. I don't know where you live and if you can possible file a case against them, though i don't think i've seen anyone do that successfully and then you also have to factor in the cost of litigation.

[robelneo]

It's been five years, but it's not too late to post your report. I admire your patience in continuing to hope that you are going to get your money back with your continuous interaction with them.
Its unlikley that you are going to get your money, consider it a loss, just continue to tell people not to use Hitbtc if they value their money, there are far better and reputable exchanges.

[bitbollo]

they have a "bad reputation" since many years and I have seen many issues - just search online few examples ...
Initially they have been reputable in the industry but afterwards many complaints arised online
Have you tried to reach some blockchain association/or some lawyers specialized in this kind of issues? I don't think this is something "public", based on their reputation, I would try to seek the next step on this ...

[FinneysTrueVision]

In your email conversation with customer support, they claimed that to have frozen the funds but this is untrue, they were moved to their hot wallet.



Perhaps the law enforcement inquiry came after they had already sent the ETH to their hot wallet, but if that were the case I don’t know why they would lie and say the ETH was frozen. Given the many red flags around this exchange, I would not trust anything they say. It should not take 5 years to complete an investigation. In all likelihood, they are scamming you. The only possibility you have left of recovering those funds would be to put legal pressure on them, although due to financial costs this may not be feasible.