The biggest crypto scam ever recorded (so far, of course) has made investors lose some $3.6 billion. The scam was enacted by a pair of South African brothers, Ameer Cajee and his brother Raees Cajee, who funded crypto investment firm AfriCrypt in 2019. Another element of warning for all crypto investors, in that rug pulls can obviously be done years after the start of a project - so longevity and temporal maintenance of a given project shouldn't be the "be all, end all" of your due diligence when choosing where to invest your money into.

The story goes as follows: circle back to April 2021, when Bitcoin was at its peak value of around $62,000. That was when AfriCrypt's COO and current heist suspect Ameer Cajee informed users of the platform of a hack - and asked investor not to contact authorities or seek legal proceedings, saying that those actions might impede progress in dealing with its effects and recovery of the funds.However, this announcement came a week after AfriCrypt employees lost access to their back-end platforms - platforms which would likely enable someone to spot any ongoing shenannigans with the funds managed by the company. After a group of investors hired an attorney firm (Hanekom Attorneys) to investigate the issue, they discovered that all Bitcoin banked in AfriCrypt transferred from its South African accounts and client wallets to Bitcoin wallets and tumblers (specific services that pool tainted and legitimate Bitcoins and then distribute them randomly, providing virtual untraceability). Exchanges have been warned of the scam and should be on the lookout for the stolen Bitcoin, but whether or not that amounts to anything is another story.

Elite South African police force Hawks, who specialize in organized crime, has been made aware of the case, and so has South Africa's Finance Sector Conduct Authority. The Authority, however, has its hands tied on the investigation considering that crypto assets are not legally considered financial products, thus living in a "no man's zone" when it comes to investigative authority. This may be the biggest scam in crypto's relatively young history, but it certainly won't be the last (or the biggest) ever. That AfriCrypt offered 10% daily returns on investments made through its platform should have been enough for users to take pause - but as always, some didn't.