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110,000 crypo investors in Ghana scammed out of $25.7 Million

source-logo  chepicap.com 28 March 2019 21:57, UTC

Ama Pomaa Boateng, a member of parliament for Ghana’s Juaben town, has cautioned the public against cryptocurrency transactions, as 110,000 unsuspecting Ghanaians were swindled out of more than $25 million.

Following several Bitcoin scams which involved almost a 110,000 unsuspecting Ghanaians, the members of parliament yesterday sounded a note of caution to the general public in regards to cryptocurrency transactions.

The 43-year old public representative stated that in December 2018, it was reported that the Economic and Organised Crime Office had apprehended two directors of Global Coin Community Help who had scammed almost 110,000 Ghanaians out of $25.7 Million.

Both scammers apparently promised victims a monthly return of at least 27% for an entire year, but later decided to run off into the sunset with the initial investments in stacked away in their pockets. It is unclear if any of the funds were recovered, however they were released following their bail application approval.

Ama Pomaa stressed that there is the issue of lack of compliance due to the nature of cryptocurrency and crypto asset because the users are anonymous and it is extremely difficult to collect data on digital currency users.

Read more: Interest in crypto in Africa is growing

The chairman of the finance committee of Parliament, Dr Mark Assibey Yeboah, pointed out that currently anybody who does crypto trades is engaged in an illegal transaction.

'Until such time as the Bank of Ghana gains a firm grip on crypto, the country will not be safe using these transactions', he said.

Daniel Okyem Aboagye, another Member of Parliament said that his colleagues should be interested in learning about cryptocurrencies.

He added that there is a need to both educate Ghanaian citizens and its regulators to understand the crypto concept comprehensively, which will help its citizens to avoid scams like these.

'The discussion is good,', he said. 'It tells the entire nation that lawmakers are concerned about the happenings on cryptocoin.'

Read more: Analyst predicts $55,000 Bitcoin after halving in 2020

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