Cryptocurrency Specialist Steals $457K From Eye Specialist's Bitcoin Accounts
A man from Harare who specializes in cryptocurrency has been accused of stealing $457,000 from an eye specialist. Lloyd Chiyangwa, 30, appeared before a regional magistrate and was charged with theft and money laundering.
The complainant allegedly purchased cryptocurrency in July 2020 while in India from a company in the United Kingdom. Upon his return to Zimbabwe in 2021, he engaged Chiyangwa to set up Bitcoin wallets, sell his Bitcoins, exchange or move tokens from one wallet to another, and purchase other cryptocurrencies for his portfolio.
Chiyangwa created five wallets for the complainant, including Trust Wallet, Exodus, Cosmostation, Wemix, and Metamask, and had access to the privileged seed phrases and passwords of the complainant’s wallets.
During the period between October 2021 and March 2023, Chiyangwa allegedly stole tokens from the complainant’s various wallets and transferred them to his wallet. He transferred the stolen tokens in batches, totalling US$457,468, with amounts of US$261,500, US$49,950, US$98,915, US$7,800, US$7,268, US$30,874, and US$5,155. He spent part of the stolen funds on luxury items, including two iPhone 14 cellphones, a laptop, and a Mercedes Benz Sedan.
The complainant allegedly became aware of the theft in May 2023 when he wanted to trade using his Trust wallet only to discover that Chiyangwa had transferred all of the tokens into his account.
Chiyangwa was remanded in custody pending a bail application.
In a bail hearing, the state opposed bail arguing that Chiyangwa had two passports and two South African bank accounts and was likely to flee the country. The state also argued that Chiyangwa could continue to defraud people using the internet.
Chiyangwa was remanded in custody until the 11th of July.
