Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, announced its assistance to Indian authorities in investigating the Fiewin gaming platform scam. This collaboration led to the recovery of $47.6 million and the arrest of four individuals.
Investigation and arrests
On September 25, Binance announced that it had assisted Indian authorities in investigating the Fiewin app, leading to the arrest of four individuals associated with the scam. Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit played a pivotal role by providing crucial intelligence to track the flow of laundered money and the suspects involved.
Binance's role in the investigation
Binance's Financial Intelligence Unit helped in tracking the funds and uncovering the fraudulent network. The wallets used to move the funds were traced to another major cryptocurrency exchange. Although the recovery of the $47.6 million has not been confirmed, Binance stated that they would continue to assist the Indian ED in uncovering the broader criminal network.
Fiewin scam scheme
Fiewin initially promoted itself as a legitimate platform for earning money through mini-games. Users created accounts and topped up their balances, but soon discovered that their accounts were frozen once the funds reached a certain amount, making recovery impossible. The growing number of victim reports led to the case being taken over by India’s special unit for combating financial crime. Further investigation revealed that Fiewin was part of a larger international crime network.
This is not the first time Indian authorities have partnered with Binance. Previously, they also worked together to uncover the E-Nugget scam and other fraudulent schemes. Binance has been officially registered as an Indian Intelligence reporting entity since August 2023.
Comments