Ten Brazilian suspects were brought into custody by the police, with charges against running a cryptocurrency pyramid scheme, which potentially caused 850 million reals ($210 million) worth of financial damage.

Reported by the local newspaper Correido Do Povo on May 21st, the Brazilian tax agency – along with the help of the police department in the country – has previously initiated Operation Egypto – an extensive investigation devoted to uncovering illicit financial schemes.

The Operation has managed to bring to light the criminal masterminds behind the Indeal – the crypto scheme that reportedly scammed a huge amount of assets from around 55,000 investors.

The scammers painted a desirable prospect for their victims, with promising return profit can reach up to 15%, to get them to willingly give money to the scheme. A total number of 13 individuals and 5 legal organizations are being thoroughly inspected for their possible involvement in the scam.

Indeal has raised major suspicion from the authority, as it possessed all the hints exposing it to be a scheme. Firstly, Indeal was operating without sufficient licenses from the government. Secondly, after going to the confiscated properties of the criminal behind the scheme, it is certain that Indeal didn’t have the ability to facilitate all the transactions made by investors simultaneously.

Indeal also used money acquired from their investors to purchase luxurious items such as cars and high-class jewelry, which have all been seized by the police.

As The Crypto Sight reported on May 2nd, Brazilian police arrested a man for operating an illegal drug laboratory and using Bitcoin (BTC) to launder the proceeds.