Over £4 million has been returned to rightful owners following an international cryptocurrency scam that was rumbled by Greater Manchester Police.
It’s come after a sum of $22.25 million (which is equivalent to just over £16 million) was seized by specialist officers from Greater Manchester Police’s Economic Crime Unit in July 2021, when intelligence led to the discovery of USB sticks containing huge amounts of Ethereum – the second largest Crypto-currency after BitCoin.
A total of 150 victims from all over the world contacted officers in the unit following the scam-bust, which GMP says saw millions invested in a fake savings and trading service.
Over £4 million has now been returned to 23 verified victims, and another 127 reported claims are currently being investigated by officers alongside partners in international law enforcement across the globe.
Victims based in the UK, United States, Europe, China, Australia and Hong Kong had deposited money, including life savings, into what they thought was an online savings and trading service using Binance Smart Chain – which stores and records transactions made in crypto-currency confirming their movement and value.
The scammers operating the service waited until a significant amount of money had been deposited, before shutting down their website and transferring the funds into their own accounts.
Unfortunately for them, the scammers did not disappear without trace.
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Specialist officers received intelligence that those running the scheme had been in Manchester for a limited time and tracked them down, and
Officers first recovered an encrypted USB stick containing $9.5 million of stolen Ethereum, and they found a further $12.7million a few days later after locating a Cryptograph safety deposit box – which is effectively an online safe – and the code to access it.
A 23-year-old male and a 25-year-old female were arrested for fraud and money laundering offences, but they have since been released under investigation pending further enquiries.
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It’s not over yet either, as another £7 million still needs to be claimed by rightful owners.
$22.25 million was seized by specialist officers from Greater Manchester Police’s Economic Crime Unit in July 2021 / Credit: GMP
Speaking on the return of the funds, and issuing a warning on cryptocurreny services, Detective Chief Inspector Joe Harrop – from GMP’s Economic and Cyber Crime Unit – said: “Anyone involved in these cryptocurrency and trading services are urged to take extreme caution and do a lot of research as there are still huge risks.
“Online currency and trading is incredibly technical and need in-depth knowledge in order to make sure your money is safe.
“If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
“Thankfully, we’ve returned over four million pounds to 23 individual victims and we’re continuing to work through a large number of other reported claims where we can hopefully return even more money [but] we believe there may still be victims out there from all over the world who are owed some of this money we rumbled half a year ago.”
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Anyone who thinks they may be affected by this particular scam should get in touch with GMP on [email protected] with the following details:
The name of the savings and trading service invested in
The name of the law enforcement you reported the crime to, and officer details
Wallet addresses and documentation to prove ownership
The Premier League is keeping its crucial cap on away game ticket prices – for now
Danny Jones
The Premier League has announced it is extending its crucial price cap for away games, as the general cost of match tickets continues to creep up all over the country.
Most season card holders, be they here in Greater Manchester or elsewhere, are likely looking at their annual spending going up simply, so steps like these are key in keeping first division football as affordable as possible.
And that’s just the ongoing cost of living, let alone the clubs that are continuing the trend of charging more each year and, unfortunately, even pricing some supporters out entirely.
With that in mind, the news of England’s top-flight sides voting unanimously to keep the £30 cap intact for at least another two years comes as relief to those who spend most of the year putting their hard-earned cash towards following their team home and away.
BREAKING: The Premier League extend £30 cap on away tickets for another two seasons 🚨 pic.twitter.com/L336aZwmn3
Now confirmed to remain in place until the end of the 2027/28 campaign, travelling fans obviously still spend plenty of money on transport and so on every year, but at least they don’t have to worry about rising general admissions.
At least not for the time being…
Writing in a statement, the Premier League said: “Away fans help create the incredible atmosphere Premier League matches are renowned for. Since the cap’s implementation in 2016, it has contributed to attendance at away games increasing from 82% to 91%.”
They also acknowledged the significant and regular funds that supporters still spend on these trips, with plenty of people online also praising the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), which helped spearhead the campaign over a decade ago.
With so many other obstacles still getting in the way of fans making it to games either at their usual stadium or on an away day – not least of all the constant and increasingly frustrating rescheduling of fixtures – it’s good to see this isn’t an area the Prem are trying to target.
As always, the multi-billion-pound business can always seek out other, newer money spinners, and we’re absolutley certain they will. For instance, there’s at least one happening over in Spain that we’d happily see carried over here.
Following the news, this now means that fans will ultimately have enjoyed 12 back-to-back seasons of the benefit, and long may it continue.
Nevertheless, the biggest barrier for people to watch the beautiful game at its highest level in the UK remains the cost of standard tickets.
The likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Leeds and more have already let matchgoers know that their season ticket prices will be going up, and the likes of Man City have already seen backlash for increasing rates amid the expansion of the Etihad Campus.
Greater Manchester’s fire service officially rated ‘outstanding’ following inspection
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester’s fire service has officially been rated ‘outstanding’.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has awarded published its latest inspection report, and has awarded Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) two ‘Outstanding’ ratings for the first time in the service’s history.
One ‘outstanding’ rating was given for the preventing of fire and emergencies, and one for values and culture.
Some of the areas of strength noted in the report include outstanding prevention work, acknowledging the service’s innovative partnership activity and targeted risk reduction programmes, and a ‘strong, positive, and inclusive’ culture, with strong communication and a clear focus on values, staff voice, and transparent decision making.
The service was also commended for having high levels of operational preparedness, and ‘effective’ governance and scrutiny, with ‘clear’ performance reporting and strategic direction.
In addition to the two ‘Outstanding’ ratings, inspectors also rated GMFRS as ‘Good’ in seven of the eight other inspection categories – including responding to fires and other emergencies, training and developing the right people with the right skills, and ensuring fairness and diversity across the workplace.
Inspectors also acknowledged the ‘significant capacity pressures’ on fire safety regulation across the UK, and the unique challenges posed by Greater Manchester’s complex and fast-changing urban environment.
“Greater Manchester has a fire and rescue service we can be proud of,” commented Mayor Andy Burnham, as the inspection report was published this week.
Greater Manchester’s fire service has officially been rated ‘outstanding’ following its latest inspection / Credit: GMFRS
“I’ve often said that GMFRS is one of the best services not just in this country, but anywhere. The inspectors’ findings reinforce this belief. I’m pleased that this strong inspection report recognises its outstanding prevention work as part of Greater Manchester’s Live Well approach, its outstanding culture and values, and consistently good performance across almost every other area.”
Chief Fire Officer, Dave Russell, added: “I am really pleased that the inspectors have recognised our progress towards this goal, by awarding us ‘Outstanding’ ratings for the first time in our service’s history.
“I am particularly pleased to have been awarded these for our nation-leading work on prevention, helping us to use our resources in the most effective way, and in our service’s culture, which I made my number one priority when joining the service.”
Emily Sergeant -
22nd February 2022 
