Crime has been on the rise in Cyprus, and the latest incident proves how serious the situation is.
In the last series of happenings, 2 criminals were expedited from the island nation. One of these was a suspect in the theft of thousands of Bitcoin, while the other was a notorious money launderer with Hezbollah links.
The Cypriot Department of Justice (DOJ) explained how one of the suspects is in fact wanted in the US states of Arizona and Georgia for extortion and cybercrimes. The other is a wanted man in Florida for conducting money-laundering activities on behalf of Hezbollah.
The first man, Joshua Polloso Epifaniou, is a Cypriot national. He has been charged with wire fraud, along with conspiracy to commit computer fraud. He is also wanted for extortion and identity theft. According to the DOJ, Mr. Epifaniou along with his accomplices had stolen personal information from a variety of people including a New York-based hardware company, a California-based an online game publisher, a an online sports site owned by Turner, and an employment website based out of in Virginia. He has been accused of stealing over $56,850 in Bitcoin through his fraudulent activities.
The second extradited man, Ghassan Diab is a Lebanese citizen, who has allegedly laundered over $100,000. He has also been identifies as a potential Hezbollah member.
