Police in the small European country of Montenegro say they have arrested the co-founder of the alleged crypto scam scheme FutureNet, which is believed to have stolen approximately $21 million from unsuspecting victims.
Roman Ziemian was arrested in the Balkan nation’s capital city of Podgorica, according to a statement released by authorities on Monday (Aug, 19).
The Montenegrin Police Directorate said it seized devices and items it suspects Ziemian used for his alleged crimes.
Life imprisonment if convicted
Ziemian, who had been living in Montenegro under a false name, is sought by both Polish and South Korean law enforcement on charges of money laundering, fraud, and theft. If extradited to South Korea the Polish national faces the threat of life imprisonment if he is convicted.
Ziemian is scheduled to appear before a judge at Podgorica’s High Court to determine whether he will be extradited.
In 2018, Ziemian and Stephan Morgenstern established FutureNet, which was marketed as a ‘multilevel marketing enterprise’ with an associated cryptocurrency called FuturoCoin (FTO). The company’s website is no longer operational, and FTO has since become nearly worthless.
In March 2019, Poland’s consumer protection agency, UOKIK, warned FutureNet might be operating as a classic pyramid scheme scam.
The agency found the company sold investment packages priced between $10 and $10,000, promising returns to investors who recruited others into the scheme.
By mid-2020, South Korean authorities had also launched a probe into FutureNet’s activities after receiving over 900 complaints from investors claiming to have lost millions of dollars with the company.
Italian law enforcement apprehended Ziemian in October 2022 and Morgenstern was arrested in Greece in the same month, placed under house arrest, but later escaped to Albania. Albanian authorities located and arrested him in August 2023.
Albanian courts have already agreed to extradite Morgenstern to South Korea, where he too could face a potential life sentence.
Featured image: Flickr/Lassi Kurkijärvi
