Two men from Stamford Hill’s Charedi community have been arrested as part of a sweeping police operation targeting a $18.7 million (£15 million) cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering scheme.
The men, aged 24 and 36, were taken into custody early Wednesday morning following coordinated raids on six residential properties across Hackney. The Metropolitan Police’s Territorial Support Group led the operation, descending on Castlewood Road — a quiet, tight-knit Orthodox Jewish neighborhood — just after dawn.
Images from the scene showed officers unloading riot gear and tactical equipment from marked vans as they executed search warrants. A police spokesperson later confirmed the arrests were part of Operation Galafarm, an ongoing investigation by the Met’s Economic Crime Command into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes that allegedly lured victims with false investment promises.
According to investigators, over £15 million in stolen funds — equivalent to roughly $18.7 million — was funneled through a complex web of shell companies used to mask the source of illicit proceeds.
“Two men have been arrested as part of a Metropolitan Police investigation into a multi-million-pound fraud and money laundering scheme,” a police spokesperson said. “It is alleged more than £15m in stolen funds was laundered through a set of shell companies.”
The suspects, both residents of Stamford Hill, remain in custody as detectives continue questioning them. Sources familiar with the operation say the arrests follow months of intelligence gathering and forensic financial analysis.
Castlewood Road, where several of the raids occurred, is home to a significant Charedi population and was reportedly cordoned off for several hours during the police activity.
Local residents expressed shock at the scene, with one passerby describing the heavy police presence as “totally out of place” for the normally quiet area.
Operation Galafarm remains ongoing, and police say further arrests or charges may follow as the investigation unfolds.
2 comments:
https://hudsonvalley.news12.com/fire-and-safety-code-violations-found-at-yeshiva-day-care-in-ramapo
They released both suspects same day. One was released as he was renting the house they raided from the real fraudster who had long left the uk and was an innocent victim and the other was a run around employee of the same fraudster.
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