Brazil saw another week of reports on alleged cryptocurrency scams as the Sao Paulo Court ordered to block the assets managed by Unick Forex, while another firm was reported of promising 400% returns through a cryptocurrency investment scheme.
Here is the past week of crypto and blockchain news in review, as originally reported by Cointelegraph Brasil.
Unick Forex reportedly flees offices but apparently will resume operations
Following a police investigation of purported investment scheme Unick Forex, staff reportedly fled the firm’s offices with computers and other hardware in tow. Cointelegraph Brasil reported on Sept. 20 that, according to the administrators of the building that housed the company, the rooms that belonged to Unick have already been handed over and are ready to be rented.
On Oct. 1, Leidimar Lopes, the president of Unick Forex, published an official statement claiming that the firm will continue to operate as normal, following a purported upgrade to the platform. The executive stressed that the firm will pay its customers through an extrajudicial agreement, promising that all clients will be able to withdraw their funds as requested.
In the statement, Lopes noted that Unick Forex is not an investment platform, but rather an educational platform for sharing content in areas such as online marketing, personal finance, financial markets and cryptocurrencies.
Unick Forex’s assets blocked by court
Subsequently, the Sao Paulo Court of Justice reportedly ordered to block the assets managed by Unick Forex, granting an urgent injunction request to a client that complained about delay withdrawals from the platform. According to a court order published on Oct. 3, Unick Forex is free to appeal the decision.
Unick Forex was previously ordered to pay $28,500 to a client who filed a lawsuit against the company for a delay in platform withdrawals.
Leaked: GBB CEO owns 25,000 Bitcoin
Also this week, Cointelegraph Brasil reported that the CEO of Brazilian cryptocurrency firm Grupo Bitcoin Banco (GBB) claimed 25,000 Bitcoin (BTC), worth $196 million at press time, in a 2018 filing with the Department of Federal Revenue in 2019.
As suggested by legal experts, CEO Claudio Oliveira’s personal funds could potentially be used to cover the GBB’s debt to its customers. The alleged fact of Oliveira holding over $200 million in crypto was unveiled amid GBB’s legal issues and an ongoing police investigation, as reported in late August.
New investigation of YouXWallet
On Sept. 30, Cointelegraph Brasil reported on another alleged crypto pyramid scheme operating in Brazil and Portugal. YouXWallet, an Estonia-based forex and crypto exchange, is reportedly accused of operating a financial pyramid promising a 400% return to investors, according to an investigation by multi-level marketing (MLM) research firm Behind MLM.
According to reports, YouXWallet is already being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM) as the firm is suspected to be involved in a financial pyramid scheme.