UK seized 3 NFTs in a millions worth fraud case

NFTs utility has been introduced over the last year. The craze for these digital currencies are continuing to rise. However, as in every industry, fraudsters have already found a way to roll out illicit projects and scam individuals in the ecosystem. Recently, the United Kingdom authorities have confiscated three Non-Fungible Token projects in a $1.9 million fraud. Moreover, the authority also seized $6,700 worth of cryptocurrencies and detained three individuals in its latest crackdown against monetary crimes. Apart from all, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) also arrested three individuals alleged of the crime.

HMRC’s first NFTs seizure

HM revenue and Customs has reportedly investigated a $1.9 million financial scheme. The operation was a part of a probe into a suspected Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud that involved 250 alleged fake firms. Hence the authority seized three NFTs in a crackdown on suspected activity to hide money.

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As a Result, the HMRC also seized about $6,700 worth of digital assets. According to several reports, it is observed that the latest seizure has become the tax authorities first confiscation of Non-Fungible Token.

According to Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of Economic Crime at HMRC, the latest seizure will serve as a warning to illicit players thinking they could use digital currency to hide funds. Additionally, Sharp also underscored that the authority constantly adapts new technology to ensure that it keeps pace with how criminals and evaders look to conceal their assets.

However, the exact USD value of the NFT tokens are yet to be revealed.

Cryptocurrency frauds in the UK

Frauds involving cryptocurrencies are not absent anywhere. Latest studies have noted that there had been more than 7k reports of such schemes in the nation between January and October. Notably, victims have parted out with approximately $200 million within the period, which is more than the entire amount of 2020.

Following several data, we have observed that a huge chunk of the scams are focused on the primary digital currency. A latest report highlights that an anonymous UK resident parted with $200k  after a woman he messaged in a dating application conned him. Indeed, the reports highlighted that the women encouraged him to make Bitcoin investments on a dubious platform that promised to make him rich.

NFT ecosystem has become a hot trend

In the world of blockchain and crypto assets, NFTs have become one of the hottest trends. These digital cryptographic tokens have the potential to represent any real world assets. Meanwhile, one can prove ownership over these collectibles as they are blockchain-based and verifies their authenticity.

Last year, we witnessed how several renowned musicians, actors, and athletes entered the niche by releasing collections of their own.