About two weeks ago, the crypto space faced another alleged rug pull. This time, the gambling platform and blockchain casino ZKasino was at the center of the accusations, with many investors claiming their money was gone.<\/p>\n
Despite the allegations, ZKasino continued to post X updates before disappearing from the public eye with investors\u2019 money. The most recent development shows that a suspect was arrested in the Netherlands by the Dutch authorities, and over $12 million was seized in the process.<\/p>\n
The Fiscal Information and Investigation Service of the Netherlands (FIOD) revealed<\/a> on Wednesday that a 26-year-old man had been arrested earlier this week for the ZKasino rug pull.<\/p>\n Per the press release, the Dutch authorities started investigating the $33 million crypto gambling platform\u2019s scam on April 25. The criminal investigation began with the online reports of the crypto community and information from the intelligence departments of the FIOD.<\/p>\n Staff from Binance\u2019s Financial Crime Compliance team aided the FIOD during the investigation, helping \u201csecure millions of euros in cryptocurrencies.\u201d Similarly, the Office of the Public Prosecutor helped the investigation team contact the members of the ZKasino Team.<\/p>\n On April 29, the FIOD arrested a man suspected of \u201cfraud, embezzlement and money laundering.\u201d The suspect\u2019s detention was extended to fourteen days for \u201cinvestigative purposes\u201d after being brought before a magistrate.<\/p>\n As part of the investigation, the authorities searched the suspect\u2019s house and confiscated around \u20ac11.4 million, worth around $12.25 million, in different assets. FIOD seized real estate, luxury cars, and various cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n Dutch authorities don\u2019t rule out further arrests as the involved scammers\u2019 cooperation will be required to recover and return the victim\u2019s stolen money.<\/p>\n As reported by Bitrabo, the crypto gambling platform scam rumors started in March when decentralized exchange (DEX) ZigZag made serious accusations against the project. Per the rivaling crypto exchange, ZKasino had failed to pay developers and other contractors who helped build the platform.<\/p>\n Moreover, ZigZag claimed that the fundraising and the project\u2019s valuation were likely fake. The post added that the previously announced $40 million ecosystem wasn\u2019t real and would likely never be paid out in real currency.<\/p>\n Despite the alarms ringing, trust in the crypto project did not completely crumble until April 20. Users began reporting suspicious activity after the website started to show changes.<\/p>\n One X user pointed out that, previously, the \u201cHow does the Brid-To-Earn?\u201d section of the platform stated that the bridged Ethereum would be returned to investors when the chain and its native token, ZKAS, were live. However, this portion of the text was allegedly deleted.<\/p>\n Where is our ETH ? pic.twitter.com\/fV3d5iFbq4<\/a><\/p>\n — No\u00e9 G (@0xNoe) April 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s worth noting that ZKasino led investors to believe they would get their investments back within 30 days. The team had promised the ability to withdraw their bridged Ethereum 1:1. Instead, users found their funds were locked in ZKAS with a 15-month vesting period.<\/p>\n<\/span>ZKasino, A Scam From The Beginning?<\/span><\/h2>\n
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