2024-09-19 08:17:22
A prosecutor from the Specialized Directorate against Money Laundering obtained material evidence that shows the alleged responsibility of Juan José Benavides Velásquez in an illegal scheme of massive fraud, through the offering of returns on investments in cryptocurrencies, called Daily Cop.
For these acts, this person was charged with the crimes of money laundering, illicit enrichment of individuals and conspiracy to commit a crime. The charges were not accepted.
The investigation revealed that Benavides Velásquez, in conjunction with other people, had promoted virtual currencies on social media in exchange for earnings in Colombian pesos of 0.5% daily and 12% monthly.
Clients who believed in the business and entrusted their savings to it were able to see the supposed returns in the virtual wallet applications created for this purpose. However, they suddenly lost access to the platforms, stopped receiving reports and were simply told that the cryptocurrencies had lost value.
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The Prosecutor’s Office received 60 complaints, which relate to 103 victims who lost more than 8.234 billion pesos, between 2019 and 2022.
During the investigation, it was found that part of the funds allegedly collected were deposited into the accounts of allied companies and other people linked to the holding company, an action that allowed 126.702 million pesos to be hidden. Likewise, it was learned that Benavides Velásquez obtained a possible unjustified increase in assets amounting to 4.663 million pesos, and had acquired a property in Medellín and a vehicle. In addition, his company reports income of 582 million pesos, of which there is no clarity regarding its origin and destination.
Finally, a cryptocurrency is a digital asset that uses cryptographic encryption to guarantee its ownership and ensure the integrity of transactions, and to control the creation of additional units, that is, to prevent someone from making copies as we would do, for example, with a photo. These coins do not exist physically: they are stored in a digital wallet.
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