The Italian police accused the founder of the BitGrail cryptocurrency exchange of hacking the platform and stealing €120 million in 2018.
December 22, 2020 | AtoZ Markets – In February 2018, BitGrail crypto exchange was hacked, and this incidence resulted in the loss of Nano crypto coins worth over $195 million. Notably, 230 thousand users lost their money as a result of the hack.
Subsequently, the Italian police, which called the hack attack unique, set out to find the hacker and bring him to justice.
Related: BitGrail Owner Ordered To Refund Customers After Being Hacked
BitGrail owner hacked own crypto exchange? New details emerge
Two years later after BitGrail was hacked, new details have emerged about the hacker. During the investigation, it turned out that the CEO of BitGrail, Francesco Firano was personally involved in the hacker attack, according to the official documents under the initials F.F. As per Reuters, the police are not yet sure exactly how Firano was involved in stealing coins from his own exchange, but this fact is undeniable.
“It is unclear whether he was actively involved in the theft or simply decided not to tighten security after his discovery,” said Ivano Gabrielli, director of the National Cybercrime Center.
Police said it would have been easy to prevent theft after the first breach was discovered, but instead “FF deliberately failed to prevent attacks,” which allowed hackers to withdraw the Nano coins from the accounts.
However, the investigation is still ongoing.
Fraudsters among crypto exchange CEOs are not uncommon
In 2018, another CEO of the crypto exchange got into the ranks of scammers. It was the founder of Quadrigacx Gerald Cotten, who died under mysterious circumstances, taking with him the keys to the cold wallets where the depositors' funds were kept.
Read also: Idax CEO Is Missing With Cold Wallet Keys
After Cotten's death, someone withdrew $190 million worth of coins from the exchange, which aroused suspicion among users. According to the deceived clients themselves, as well as the investigative authorities of the United States and Canada, the founder of Quadrigacx may well be alive.
Several pieces of evidence point to this. So the publication Vanity Fair writes that after his death, a man similar to Gerald Cotten bought himself an expensive yacht for travel.
Read also: QuadrigaCX Trustee Lays Out Plans for Compensating Affected Clients
The depositors believe that Gerald faked his death in order to steal money and disappear under a different name and surname. It has not yet been established whether Gerald Cotten actually died or not.
Read also: How to prevent crypto investment loss
If it turns out that he is alive, then the swindler will have to appear before the courts of several countries at once and return the clients' misappropriated money.
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