Japan arrests criminal gang using Monero to launder money, involving more than 100 million yen

as of October 21, the Japanese National Police Agency's Cyber ​​Special Search Department and a joint special envoy team composed of nine prefectural police departments, including Saitama Prefecture Police, arrested 26-year-old Yuta Kobayashi, whose address and occupation are unknown, for allegedly using computers to commit fraud. Kobayashi is believed to be the leader of the gang, and the estimated loss is more than 100 million yen ($667,100).

The gang abused the highly secretive virtual currency Monero in an attempt to launder money, and identified Kobayashi's identity by tracking the flow of funds. According to the police department, this is the first time that Japan has analyzed Monero and identified a suspect.