Brazil approves extradition of BitRobot’s Laurent Barthelemy
Brazil’s Supreme Court has approved the extradition of BitRobot admin Laurent Myriam Claude Barthelemy.
Barthelemy was arrested in Brazil on an international arrest warrant request by Belgium in April 2023.
As per the Supreme Court’s April 2nd press-release, Barthelemy (right) has been charged with “committing the crimes of criminal organization, fraud, computer fraud and money laundering.”
BitRobot was a simple 21% a month MLM crypto Ponzi scheme launched in early 2020.
BitRobot collapsed in January 2021, generating an estimated $36 million USD in losses.
Following BitRobot’s collapse, investors were quick to speculate Arnaud Racine was behind the scam.
Belgian authorities first arrested Racine (right) shortly after BitRobot collapsed. Racine reportedly told Belgian authorities he was a victim, leading to his release.
Further investigation led to Racine’s second arrest in on April 11th, 2023.
Racine was again released on April 18th, 2023. This decision was appealed by Belgian authorities, however the outcome of proceedings is unknown.
As a result, Racine’s current status post second arrest is also unknown.