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Binance has frozen the accounts of an anonymous individual who is running an investment fund for small time investors. Multiple reports about the account led Binance to lock up the funds, which will be released once Binance has completed a police audit, according to a screenshot shared by the fund's owner, "CryptoWelson."
Binance has contacted me letting me know that my account will be frozen until February! This is a slowdown for the refunds but we will have to wait! 😕
Does anyone know any exchanges that accept KYC quickly so I can get $ for refunds this month? I don't want to wait for Binance. pic.twitter.com/z5B8GA07dO
— CryptoWelson (@cryptowelson) January 17, 2020
According to a document provided on the official ParrotCapital Telegram channel, ParrotCapital is a cryptocurrency investment fund that has been in operation since 2017. It claims to offer yearly returns of more than 160% for investors. However, the fund has no information about the team behind it, no website, doesn't require KYC on investment below $100,000 and appears to operate through Telegram channels.
We have reached out to CryptoWilson and Binance and will update this story if we hear back.
The fund previously had a minimum investment limit of 0.2 bitcoin (BTC) (approx $1,750), but this was temporarily reduced to 0.1 BTC (~$875) less than a week ago. These funds were used for entering leveraged positions and prior to the recent events, customers could withdraw their contributions at any time. Now, it appears that the fund is no longer accepting contributions and withdrawals are stopped.
In a recent Twitter post, CryptoWelson claims the Binance account, as well as several other accounts used to store investor funds were locked after being hacked. Some funds from some exchanges were stolen but he plans on using his own money to pay back investors.
Although it appears CryptoWelson doesn't know exactly how the hacks occurred, he notes that he was doxed (had his identity made public) back in December 2019 and suggested that the same individual may also be responsible for the hacks.