Police detained in connection with alleged $270,000 Bitcoin theft

According to RBK, two Moscow police officers are facing up to ten years in prison after being accused of widespread fraud.

According to law enforcement authorities and reports in the local media, two police officers in Moscow have been detained on suspicion of stealing $265,000 in Bitcoin from a merchant.

The Prosecutor’s Office has filed a criminal complaint against the pair, according to information from the RBK outlet on Thursday. They are facing up to ten years in prison on charges of widespread fraud.

According to a source who spoke with the newspaper, on July 19, two cops from the criminal investigation department stopped a man on the street, handcuffed him, took his phone, and forced him into an SUV.

The individual, who turned out to be a cryptocurrency investor, was allegedly threatened by the suspects inside the car, telling him that if he did not pay up, a criminal case would be filed against him for supposed criminal behaviour.

According to the source, the unidentified victim sent 9.6 bitcoins (about 26.2 million rubles or $270,000) to the police officers’ digital wallets.

The suspects “misled a citizen about his alleged involvement in unlawful activities and received money from him… for avoiding liability,” the Moscow Police press service reported to Tass news agency.

The cops may spend ten years in prison and be fired from the police force if they are proven guilty, it claimed.