The Brazil-based OTC trading platforms have reportedly supported the local authorities in preventing a $5 million hack from being finalized. 

Specifically, the over-the-counter (OTC) crypto exchanges in Brazil have reportedly put an end to an online heist looking to steal $5 million from the multinational financial establishment from Spain – Banco Santander – by freezing the funds. 

Around the middle of April this year, Banco Santander have reportedly come across numerous abnormal activities, concerning the accounts in the possession of local steel producing firm Gerdau – including 11 suspicious transactions, equivalent to $5 million, conducted from one individual IP address. 

A police report was submitted on the 20th of the same month, to call for a public investigation into the incident. 

Specifically, the bank accounts of four OTC Bitcoin trading desks have been selected as the receiving end of the stolen funds, which have reportedly been frozen after. 

“As it was a very high amount, of R $ 5 million [$900,000], we asked for a bank statement from the original account. When we realized that the money we received had entered the original account on the same day, we blocked the operation. Immediately, the customer started to pressure me to send the Bitcoin, but I didn’t. A short time later, the bank blocked my account.”

The hackers have chosen the Mundial Illumination account – a corporate customer of Banco Santander – to carry out the malicious activity. 

“It is as if a corporate bank account had invaded another corporate bank account for the order to debit the bank.” The Public Prosecutor reportedly remarked.