Eliyahu Gigi, a resident of Tel Aviv, has been formally charged with the theft of more than $1.7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. The 31-year-old Israeli reportedly stole Bitcoin, Dash, and Ethereum from crypto owners in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Fraud, Money Laundering, Theft, Etc

It was reported that the charges were recently filed by Yeela Harel, a lawyer from the cyber department of the Office of the State Attorney. Gigi was said to have been charged with fraud, money laundering, theft, and other criminal activities.

The indictment stated that Gigi had established a system of fraudulent website to steal cryptocurrencies using malware. Gigi is also indicted with using several modes to hide the evidence of his misdeeds, like utilizing remote servers and moving the stolen assets around via numerous wallets.

Previously Arrested for Phishing Scam

Gigi, together with his brother, an ex-soldier, were said to have been arrested back in June. The siblings were suspected of being part of an international phishing scam. However, Harel only charged Gigi.

According to reports, law enforcement only began to look closely into Gigi’s activities after they obtained information implying that the suspect was leaving links to scams on crypto wallet forums. Apparently, Gigi would connect to a site that looked to have a wallet manager that people can download. The suspect apparently stole the account owner’s credentials and collected their crypto.

The news of Gigi’s indictment came on the heels of reports that a Microsoft employee had been arrested for allegedly stealing around $10 million in digital currency. The suspect, a Volodymyr Kvashuk, reportedly embezzled and sold online cryptocurrency gift cards for the tech company’s products.

