Venezuela Arrests Suspects in $2 Million Bitcoin Heist

As if US sanctions, economic volatility, and an at-times hostile government weren’t enough, Venezuelan traders also have to deal with hackers.

The Venezuelan Scientific, Criminal, and Criminalistic Investigations Corps (CICPC), the equivalent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US, recently announced the arrest of two individuals who allegedly managed to penetrate the servers of a Venezuelan trading platform, stealing 101 Bitcoins (worth over $1.9 million).

José Manuel Osorio Mendoza, 33, and Kelvin Jonathan Diaz, 34, are accused of breaking into the servers of Bancar Exchange, one of about a dozen cryptocurrency exchanges authorized to operate in Venezuela. After circumventing the platform's security, they allegedly proceeded to make Bitcoin and fiat transfers to various accounts associated with them.

Though the hackers used obfuscation protocols in an attempt to cover their tracks, the police were able to trace the thefts to one company, Proinsa, though it’s unclear what the suspects’ exact connection to the firm is.