How Two Brothers Stole 69,000 Bitcoin and Vanished

Overview

The video recounts the collapse of Africrypt, a South African cryptocurrency platform founded by brothers Amir and Riz Cajee. The company reportedly promised unusually high returns—up to 10% per day—through automated Bitcoin trading, attracting investors and drawing attention through celebrity and political connections.

How Africrypt Operated

According to the video, Africrypt was not actually trading. Investor deposits accumulated in wallets controlled by the brothers, while payouts to earlier investors came from newer deposits. The video characterizes this as a Ponzi scheme.

As they attracted more clients, the brothers also promoted other ventures, including a proposed crypto bank and an Africrypt coin.

Collapse and Missing Funds

In April 2021, Africrypt announced that hackers had stolen about 69,000 Bitcoin, then valued at roughly $4 billion. Investors were urged not to contact police or lawyers, ostensibly to avoid disrupting recovery efforts. The platform’s website and customer support subsequently disappeared.

The video alleges that large transfers had begun before the announcement, with funds moved through cryptocurrency mixers and converted into stablecoins and Monero. Investigators reportedly found that staff had lost access to the platform’s systems shortly before the collapse, leaving the brothers in control.

Investigation and Aftermath

The video says investigators could not establish that the brothers had officially left South Africa. It also mentions reports of Vanuatu citizenship and unconfirmed suggestions that they went to Dubai, Tanzania, or the United Kingdom.

A hardware wallet found in a Swiss bank safe-deposit box in 2023 was discussed as a possible link to the missing funds, but its ownership and contents could not be confirmed.

The video concludes that investors had not recovered their money and that, by 2024, the case had reached a dead end. It says South Africa’s financial regulator cited Africrypt’s lack of registration as a barrier to action. The brothers’ whereabouts and the fate of the funds remain unresolved in the account presented.

Presenters and Contributors

An unidentified narrator; no other presenters or contributors are identified.