Spain Uncovers Over $1.1 Billion in Bitcoin Moved by Arbistar Wallets

Spanish Guardia Civil investigators uncovered that digital wallets linked to collapsed cryptocurrency scheme Arbistar moved over 20,000 Bitcoin between January and March 2021. The transfers, valued at more than $1.1 billion at the time and roughly $1.6 billion today, were sent to administrators' inner circles to conceal illicit asset trails. Arbistar collapsed in September 2020 after freezing user accounts under the pretext of a bot malfunction, initially diverting 881 Bitcoin. The Ponzi scheme defrauded up to 32,000 investors worldwide of over $220 million. Founder Santiago Fuentes Jover received a 16-year sentence, and associate Diego Fernández Nojarova was sentenced to 11 years.