About 69,000 bitcoins worth more than $3.6 billion have disappeared, alongside Ameer and Raees Cajee, the founders of South Africa’s Africrypt crypto-investment platform.
Moguldom reported that it happened shortly after the brothers announced a breach in company operations in April.
The bitcoins were transferred directly from their South African-based financial company to a local account with Johannesburg’s First National Bank. They eventually moved the funds to an unknown location.
The Cajee brothers are 18 and 20 years old, respectively. They founded the company in 2019. Ameer, who served as Africrypt’s chief operating officer, was barely 16 when the company started.
According to reports, Ameer sent a letter to investors on April 13, stating that Africrypt had to halt operations after a “recent breach” and attack on client bitcoin wallets.
“At this point, it is unknown to us the extent of personal client information breached during the attack,” Ameer said. However, he added that the company would update clients on progress made in recovering the “stolen funds and compromised information.”
In the wake of the announcement, Ameer urged clients to avoid reporting the incident to authorities, citing as the reason the possibility of third-party interference, which could impede recovery attempts.