Kristijan Krstic, a serial fraudster linked to a number of scams, has been arrested in Serbia.
Serbian authorities arrested Krstic back in July, following a joint investigation with the FBI.
Details of Krstic’s case are murky. There’s a bit of coverage out there but absolutely nothing pertaining to what he’s facing in the US.
I first became aware of the arrest when a reader tipped me off yesterday.
Initially I was confused, as The Star article in question appeared to be unrelated.
As per The Star’s article;
Serbian police have arrested a group suspected of an online scam worth more than US$70 million following a joint investigation with the FBI, the interior ministry has announced.
Eleven people from Australia, Montenegro, the Philippines and Serbia were detained on charges that they “created, promoted and organised” 16 fake investment platforms.
They are suspected of swindling investors from all around the world who placed funds in international bank accounts connected to the group’s organisers, a Serbian police statement said.
“After that, the group, on the order of the organisers, closed these fake investment platforms and after some time reopened new ones with the same practiced method,” the statement said.
With a bit more sniffing around I was able to establish those arrested belonged to an “organized criminal group”, that had been operating since 2011.
Sixteen undisclosed scams were referenced, which as above netted the scammers over $70 million.
Video footage of a raid in Serbia is provided by Telegraf in the link above.
A September 9th report from Serbia Today ties Krstic to the Biitcoin Ponzi scheme.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports Krstic (right) was allegedly behind Options Rider, another Ponzi scheme.
The ABC reports Krstic fled Australia following an Australian Federal Police investigation into Options Rider’s collapse.
BehindMLM readers have tied Krstic to Hedger Tech, Start Options and Dragon Mining Tech (made up of Crypto Mining Space, Palilula Mining, BTC Trader Online, BTC Mining Factory and Coin Pool Mining).
Serbia Today claims Krstic has dual Serbian-Australian citizenship.
As per Krstic’s Serbian lawyer, he and his then eight-month pregnant wife, Ksenija Krstic, a Philippine national, are in custody.
Krstic is fighting extradition to the US to face undisclosed criminal charges.
The US and Serbia ratified an extradition treaty in April 2019.
Krstic’s lawyer argues that the treaty should only apply when someone commits a crime in the US and then flees to Serbia.
My clients have been in Serbia all the time and have worked from our country, and if they are extradited, it can be a precedent by which all people who work in Serbia in American companies, and who are in some way involved or suspected of some crime in USA, to be arrested and extradited.
The link to Krstic and the US is through Texas. Beyond that however there’s an informational black hole.
This isn’t unexpected, as US authorities typically keep open cases under seal until suspects are either in custody or extradition is secured.
I have no idea how long an extradition case will take to make its way through Serbian courts. Stay tuned for updates as we come across them.
Update 2nd February 2021 – The SEC has filed a lawsuit against Kristijan Krstic in relation to Start Options and Bitcoiin.
The DOJ has also filed a criminal complaint against John DeMarr, one of Krstic’s accomplices.
Update 23rd March 2021 – Efforts to extradite Krstijan Krstic from Serbia have hit a roadblock.