Two Israeli brothers arrested over crypto fraud

Two brothers from Jerusalem, Israel were arrested by the cyber unit of the Israel police as they were involved in cryptocurrency related phishing schemes, and the 2016 Bitfinex hack that saw the cryptocurrency exchange lose about $70 million worth of cryptocurrency.

An Israeli police spokesperson reportedly said that Eli Gigi and his younger brother Assaf Gigi stole tens of millions of dollars.The brothers were suspected for a long and systematic theft of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by accessing traders’ wallets.

The brothers allegedly set up fake crypto sites, mimicking prominent crypto exchanges and wallets, and lured traders to use them.The links to these websites were then published on Telegram groups and other trading platforms. Soon after the traders clicked on the links and submitted their private keys, the brothers would accumulate the information and use it to transfer cryptocurrencies into their own wallets.

Eli Gigi is a graduate of a technological unit of the Israel Defence Forces that recruits youth with only outstanding academic capabilities. A raid was conducted earlier this week, on Eli Gigi’s house and the police got hold of a crypto wallet.However the amount it contained was significantly lower than the suspected total embezzlement. The police also found luxury cars belonging to the two.