NZ Police Investigate Crypto Scams Related to Quwiex Limited

​NZ police have been investigating a company calling itself Quwiex Limited, which deceived investors by promising that they could make high daily profits by investing in its platform, said James Robson, the Detective Sergeant of Auckland City Financial Crime Unit.

This case is a typical Ponzi scheme, in which the victims received high profits promised by the company in the early stage of investment and were able to raise funds, thereby the investors will be induced to invest more. In mid-April, the company suspended withdrawals, citing a website upgrade, and then deactivated the website, with all funds missing.

"This company was registered in New Zealand in late September 2021 through information which has now been established as falsified," Robson said. Police have investigated all information provided by the company, including the identity of the directors and the company's address, but have found nothing. Robson thought that the scam participants have little actual links to New Zealand and are likely to be overseas.

Crypto crime continues to grow as it exist in complex and sprawling networks, allowing criminals to take advantage of this feature to escape when completes their crimes. 
​Last year, criminals secretly stole $45,000 of bitcoin under the surveillance of the local police in New Zealand. The whereabouts of the funds and the identity of the criminals have not been identified so far. In September 2021, the New Zealand Markets Authority (FMA) updated a guide aimed at helping investors understand what Crypto is and how they can safely invest in Crypto.

According to the data recently released by blockchain analysis company Chainalysis, Crypto-linked crime surged to a record high last year in terms of value, with illegal addresses receiving $14 billion in digital currencies, up 79% from $7.8 billion in 2020. As of early 2022, illicit addresses already hold over $10 billion worth of Crypto, with the majority of this held by wallets associated with crypto theft. Although illicit activities' share of total crypto transaction volume remained low at just 0.15% in 2021, the analyst said that as Crypto transactions develop and grow, the percentage of criminals is likely to rise.