The Egyptian police have arrested a criminal network led by foreign elements who stole LE 19 million ($614,903) through the cloud mining scam, HoggPool, the Egyptian Ministry of Interior has revealed.
According to the police, a total of 29 individuals were arrested in connection with the criminal network involved in the HoggPool cloud mining scam. Among those arrested, 13 were foreigners.
The network was found to be operating from two villas located in Cairo which served as their headquarters for carrying out their illegal activities.
The HoggPool platform, which was launched in August 2022, operated by promising users daily profits in exchange for their investments. It claimed to invest the funds in cryptocurrency mining activities. However, it has been revealed that the platform was a scam, and instead of generating actual returns, it withdrew millions of pounds from hundreds of users.
The platform offered users the possibility to rent so-called ‘mining machines’ starting from LE 200 ($6.47) in order to get a daily profit of around 10%.
To entice users to invest more money, HoggPool employed various tactics to make the payment process more convenient. One such tactic was offering the option to pay in Egyptian Pounds instead of dollars, making it easier for local users to participate. Additionally, the platform provided a lower exchange rate for the Egyptian Pound compared to the official rate thus creating the perception of a favorable and cost-effective investment opportunity.
HoggPool said it was as an international platform with headquarters abroad. Its Google Play app had been downloaded more than 100,000 times.
HoggPool abruptly halted the payment of daily profits to its users in late February 2023 leaving hundreds of people disillusioned. Many users claimed to have invested significant amounts of money, some even hitting tens of thousands of Egyptian Pounds, with the expectation of receiving regular returns.
According to the Ministry of Interior, the arrested elements admitted that they formed the criminal network with the aim of targeting those who are willing to achieve quick profits via the internet.
The scammers also confessed that the stolen the money was moved to about 9,965 electronic wallets in order to transfer the money abroad and buy bitcoins.
“The necessary measures are being taken to seize the monitored electronic wallets and track the funds transferred abroad through the Interpol,” the ministry said.
Follow us on Twitter for latest posts and updates
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
