Japanese authorities, including the National Police Agency and a joint task force from nine prefectural police departments, arrested 18 individuals involved in a scam using Monero (XMR).
According to multiple reports, the suspects allegedly used stolen credit card details to make fraudulent purchases, primarily on the flea market app Mercari.
Over the span of June to July 2021, the accused reportedly managed 42 fraudulent transactions, defrauding Mercari of approximately 2.7 million yen. In total, the group is thought to have carried out about 900 fake transactions, accumulating around 100 million yen ($670,000).
Japanese authorities say the case marks the first instance where Japanese law enforcement successfully traced Monero transactions, leading to arrests.
Monero is known for its robust privacy features that make it challenging to trace. It uses ring signatures, which obscure funds so that they’re virtually untraceable to the parties involved in the transfer. Monero’s blockchain also doesn’t keep track of address balances, making on-chain analysis very limited in scope.
The investigation kicked off in August 2024, following the establishment of Japan’s Cyber Special Investigation Unit, created specifically to combat the rising tide of cybercrime involving cryptocurrencies.
Earlier this year, XMR was delisted by Binance, the largest exchange in the world, and was removed by Kraken in two European countries.