A man from New Zealand’s capital Wellington has been arrested in connection with the FBI-lodged investigation in a global cryptocurrency fraud operation, allegedly stolen $ 450 million New Zealand dollars ($ 265 million).
According For the New Zealand Police, the person is one of the 13 persons accused after carrying out the search warrant in Auckland, Wellington and California over the last three days.
The allegations alleged that members of an organized criminal group manipulated seven victims to obtain large amounts of cryptocurrency, which was then looted through several platforms between March and August 2024.
The US Department of Justice has convicted the man under the federal law, including raccizing charges, a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and a conspiracy to plot money laundering as per the announcement.
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Scammer used stolen funds to buy luxury vehicles
Prosecutors allege that stolen funds were used to purchase luxury vehicles worth $ 9 million and was spent grandly on high-level goods, including designer handbags, watches and clothes, as well as services such as Los Angeles, Miami and Hampton.
The accused appeared in the Auckland district court and was granted bail with interim name Daman. He is scheduled to appear again on 3 July.
“We have worked closely with our law enforcement colleagues in the United States in support of our investigation,” police said. He said:
“Today’s search warrant and arrest reflect the importance of international participation where criminals are working on boundaries.”
Investigation is on.
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Crypto theft increases to $ 360m in April
According to data from the blockchain security firm Peckshield, digital asset theft in April 2025 stolen about $ 360 million in 18 separate hacking incidents in April 2025.
The figure jumps 990% from March, when the report was only $ 33 million. The rapid growth was largely attributed to a single unauthorized bitcoin transfer that was responsible for the bulk of the month’s loss.
On 28 April, blockchain analyst ZachxBT identified a suspected $ 330 million BTC transaction. The incident was later confirmed as a social engineering attack, which targeted an elderly American resident, resulting in one of the largest personal crypto theft ever.
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