New Zealand and the United States of America has successfully conducted a sting operation that led the authorities to bust a crypto scam ring which allegedly stole $450 million New Zealand dollars from victims across multiple countries.

The police operation led to the arrest of 13 individuals, including a man from Wellington, New Zealand.

Global crypto scam bust leads to arrest of 13 suspects

The arrests followed a coordinated three-day operation involving search warrants in Auckland, Wellington, and California, conducted by New Zealand Police’s Financial Crime Group in partnership with the FBI.

The Wellington suspect, whose identity remains suppressed by court order, is one of several people charged in both New Zealand and the United States.

Reports claim that the members of the organized criminal group manipulated seven victims to obtain large amounts of cryptocurrency, which was then laundered through multiple platforms between March and August 2024.

The members of the criminal syndicate also used the money they stole to support their extravagant lifestyle, from the purchase of a exotic cars, luxury items, VIP club services, private security, and high-end rentals in cities such as Los Angeles, Miami, and Hamptons.

According to the details, the Wellington man has been brought on the Auckland District Court on the counts of wire fraud and money laundering.

The U.S indictment also named 12 other suspects, including both American and foreign nationals. Several were arrested in California, while two remain at large and are believed to be residing in Dubai.

But he was later granted bail with interim name suppression. He is scheduled to reappear on July 3.

The New Zealand authorities later lauded their partnership with the American law enforcers, stressing the importance of cross-border collaboration in tackling transnational crypto crime.

"Today's search warrant and arrest reflects the importance of international partnership where criminals are operating across borders."

Crypto loss of whopping $360 million in just one month

Digital asset thefts surged dramatically in April 2025, with total losses reaching nearly $360 million across 18 separate hacking incidents, according to data from blockchain security firm PeckShield.

This marks an alarming 990% increase compared to March 2025, when reported losses were just $33 million. The sharp spike in stolen funds was primarily driven by a single major Bitcoin heist, which contributed the lion’s share of the month’s total.

On April 28, on-chain sleuth ZachXBT flagged a suspicious $330 million BTC transfer, later confirmed to be the result of a social engineering attack. The exploit targeted an elderly U.S. resident, making it one of the largest individual cryptocurrency thefts on record.