The creator of a Bitcoin scheme has allegedly disappeared with investors’ funds worth millions of dollars, according to fresh reports today.
The scheme affected about 10,000 investors who participated in the investment and had deposited between $100 to $300,000 each as the scheme promised a profit of 35% on their initial deposit within two weeks.
According to the report, Phineas Chakanyuka, the alleged brain box behind the scheme, had offices in Harare and Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. A large number of investors were from these cities.
Chakanyuka allegedly closed all his offices without prior notice or warning to his clients. He also did not provide any means of contact as his mobile was unreachable, thus leaving investors counting their losses.
Some of the victims reportedly sold their properties to invest in the scheme, like Peter Manyai who had sold his house so he could invest.
Manyai complained, saying:
I am stressed. I sold my house and invested and now this guy is nowhere to be found. We are organizing ourselves so that we can make an official police report. Other disgruntled investors have already reported him to the police.
The report noted that Chukanyug had sent a message on his various Bitcoin Interchange WhatsApp groups where he also claimed that he had problems with the police and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
One of the messages he sent before his disappearance reads:
Our most valued clients. We are pleased to announce that we are still progressing very well. Our system upgrade was completed successfully. We are continuing to work tirelessly to resume operations. We had indicated that we will open on November 7 to November 14. However, there are still a few requirements that we are yet to complete on our side with our broker, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the police.
Crypto scammers continue to capitalize on the ignorance of beginner investors, promising them mouthwatering returns within a few days or weeks. Coinfomania reported last month that investors lost more than $3 million in a crypto pyramid scheme.
