Exclusive: Romanian police arrest three men suspected of selling Cyprus FX broker client lists

romania cyprus brokerage

LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned that Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) has arrested and detained three men – Iliescu Åžtefan Virgil, RoÅŸoiu Darie Leone and Vîlceanu IonuÅ£ – who are suspected of stealing and trying to sell client and data lists of Retail FX traders.

The lists were stolen from an unnamed Cyprus based Retail FX brokerage. Police and prosecutors are attempting to keep the company’s identity secret, to protect it from any harm.

According to prosecutors, the group was primarily aimed at stealing computer data consisting of confidential data and customer contacts  (name, phone numbers, addresses, e-mail addresses, postal mail) and sharing the data by taking organized measures to search the market in finding and marketing databases to other clients who have links with the capital market.

According to Romanian police sources, the group was looking to sell one of the lists for EUR 80,000.

Police noted that the involved databases were composed of about 9,000 names and consisted mainly of “foreign customers”, mostly Russians who made financial investments in capital markets via the Cyprus FX broker.

Police suspect that the ‘criminal group’ and the rightful owner had several meetings, including a meeting this past Tuesday held in Bucharest for the purpose of drawing up the transaction for the sale of the brokerage company’s confidential database.

Following the meeting, the group succeeded in trading part of the database and were paid a total amount of €13,800 for a total of 2,200 contacts and confidential data.

One of the suspects was an employee of the brokerage, and used his position and access to information to steal the database.

So how were the suspects caught?

The arrested persons were caught because in early July 2017 they made contact with a potential customer, disclosing some of the data and thus allowing him to test the database with about 50 contacts. This “customer” realized that the computer data was stolen and belonged to a specific Cypriot company, and let them know that their client data was being marketed.

The stolen-from company, then initiated negotiations with the suspects, in coordination with Romanian police, including a meeting held in the municipality of Iasi, Romania on July 11. Following that meeting an agreement was struck to sell part of the database, with €13,800 being paid for about 2,200 contacts and confidential data. Police then swooped in and arrested the three suspects.

Police then conducted house searches confiscating computers and data storage devices, and mobile phones.

Detained defendants to be present proposal Bucharest Court remand for a period of 30 days.

While the aforementioned three persons were officially detained for 24 hours, according to Romanian law, prosecutors now involved in the case have asked for the suspects to be remanded for a period of 30 days while they finish building their case.

We will continue to follow this story as it develops.

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