A veteran of cryptocurrency exchanges ended up in front of the judge for having collected payments by virtual cards. The money was the fruit of a scam.

A thirty-year-old from the Riviera will pay dearly for his levity in his online transactions. This real estate agent, active in the sale and purchase of bitcoins, has just been convicted of money laundering after having accepted large payments of dubious origin in exchange for cryptocurrency. However, the complainant was not originally against him.

Let's rewind: a Ticino Internet user is tricked by anonymous people pretending to be the management service for her PayPal payment account. She is convinced by the serious tone of an email ordering her to acquire virtual payment cards for 2400 francs in order to unblock her account. She complies, sending these crooks sixteen cards worth 150 francs, with their activation codes.

Crime by omission

It is this money that the strangers offered to pay in exchange for bitcoins to the Vaudois. Yet alerted by the high price offered, the trader pocketed the amount. In order not to miss this case, he did not verify the identity of his interlocutors, as he had been able to do in the past by requiring a photo of the buyer holding his identity card.

This omission earned him his condemnation. She prevented justice from going back to the source of the scam, denounced by the Ticino woman. The Eastern Vaud public prosecutor's office considered that even if the bitcoin regular had no criminal intent, he nevertheless adopted culpable behavior. The Penal Code indicates that there is no need to know that the money comes from a crime. It is enough to have been able to presume it.

The ill-advised trader will get off with a fine of 600 francs, the 30 day-fine imposed being accompanied by a suspended sentence.