Over $4 billion has been moved by Paraguay’s cryptocurrency fraud

Disnel Allacon, head of the Paraguayan National Police’s Cybercrime division, shows that over $4 billion was moved in 2023 and 2024 due to cryptocurrency fraud and the Ponzi scheme.

Paraguay has registered $4 billion cryptocurrency scam

Cryptocurrency fraud and Ponzi schemes are growing in emerging markets where they are seduced to invest with promises of high returns in a short period of time. Authorities recently revealed that this type of scheme has thrived in Paraguay, with over $4 billion moving by these platforms between 2023 and 2024.

Disnel Allacon, director of Cybercrime for Paraguay’s National Police, said exchange platforms and social networks are key elements of these businesses.

In a recent interview, Alarcon highlighted that people were led to these illicit platforms due to the high yields provided. However, due to lack of cryptography knowledge, users received fake money in fraudulent accounts managed by intermediaries, which were crucial to the operation of these scams.

He said:

They create fake platforms as lures and create small profits added to the victim’s bank account.

Alarcon explained that the number does not necessarily originate from Paraguay, but includes platforms that use Paraguay as a transport country, and that they used the Paraguay account and platform to raise illegally obtained funds.

He did not reveal the process he followed to obtain this number, but Alarcon noted that the specialized companies were involved in the analysis leading to this conclusion.

Alarcon also said that while cryptocurrency transactions were 100% traceable, it is not necessarily possible to recover these funds and discover the names behind these moves due to the bureaucratic process involving international governments and foreign companies.

Nevertheless, he maintained that with prompt reporting of these misconduct, authorities would likely halt these operations and collect funds before leaving the country via cryptocurrency exchanges or the Fiat movement.

Read more: Paraguayan Senate Pass Act imposes up to 10 years in prison on crypto miners for electrical theft