UAE authorities have recently arrested WhiteRock Finance founder in connection with the $30 million ZKasino crypto scam. WhiteRock Finance allegedly enabled some of the illegal transactions related to the scam. The news was first revealed by blockchain investigator ZachXBT in an X post (formerly Twitter).
The post stated that the founder, Ildar Ilham, has been arrested for suspected involvement in ZKasino's suspicious fundraising. WhiteRock Finance allegedly enabled some of the illegal money transfers related to the scam.
In April 2024, ZKasino was launched with the assurance of a native token airdrop for early-adopting investors. Over a year later, most investors claim to have never received their money or tokens promised to them. Thus, setting off broad charges of fraud.
Ilham's detention is in the wake of the April 2024 arrest of Elham Nourzai, a 26-year-old crypto influencer, by Dutch authorities. Nourzai will face charges of fraud and money laundering.
The WhiteRock Founder will be extradited to the Netherlands as part of the same case. There has been no word on another suspect, Lior Ben Zakan; his status remains ambiguous.
After the arrest, WhiteRock's native token, WHITE, dropped more than 40%, hitting a low of $0.0003909. Investors responded harshly to the news, causing even more concern about the legitimacy of the project.
WHITE token price chart shows a dip of 36.07% as of 3.12 PM:
Another ZachXBT post appropriately sumarised the news. It read, "Another day, another scam — Ilham's arrest proves regulators are finally catching up," More details surrounding the scam were revealed by the blockchain investigator in a post that called for accountability within the DeFi sector:
Zkisno scam is the latest in a widening pool of crypto scams for 2025. US authorities have managed to recover only $40,000 out of the $250,000 fraud. They also found that the scam involved a fake inaugural committee. These kinds of cases highlight the need for due diligence before making any investment plans. Thus, investors are advised to do their thorough research when putting money in any digital asset.
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