More than $650,000 worth of assets have been restrained by police following the arrest of a Wellington-based man as part of an FBI investigation into a group that allegedly scammed several victims out of NZD$450 million in cryptocurrency.
The Wellington High Court has now issued restraining orders for assets valued at $670,000, including cash held in bank accounts, cash held in a lawyer’s trust account for the purchases of a property, cryptocurrency, and high-value goods such as a Louis Vuitton bag and Nike shoes.
Detective Inspector Christiaan Barnard said police would continue to work with law enforcement in the United States to recover assets alleged to have been stolen by the organised criminal group.
Cryptocurrency valued at NZ$450m was stolen from seven victims between March and August 2024, with proceeds laundered through multiple cryptocurrency platforms.
The offenders allegedly spent millions of dollars on exotic cars, hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury handbags, watches and clothing, nightclub services, private security guards, and rental homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons and Miami.
Search warrants executed in Auckland, Wellington, and California led to the arrest of several people, with the New Zealand Police’s Financial Crime Group arresting a Wellington-based man in Auckland on Friday morning.
He was indicted by the US Department of Justice under US Federal law, charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He was bailed after appearing in the Auckland District Court on Friday, where he was also granted interim name suppression.
He was expected to reappear in the Auckland District Court on July 3.
