April 14, 2026 – 06:53
Two more people were arrested as part of the investigation of an alleged cybercrime scheme that would have moved approximately 9,000 million guaraníes. An 18-year-old young man is identified as the alleged leader of the structure, who would have carried out more than 1,700 illegal operations through compromised bank accounts or electronic wallets and would have laundered the money with the purchase of crypto assets.
Yesterday, Monday, the National Police and the Public Ministry announced the arrest of eight people in the framework of the investigation of a alleged cyber scam scheme which would have operated mainly from the department of Itapua and was allegedly led by an 18-year-old young man.
It is estimated that the structure moved approximately 9,000 million guaraníes through thousands of fraudulent transactions through compromised bank accounts or electronic wallets, laundering the money through purchase of crypto assets.
In communication with ABC Cardinal This Tuesday, the prosecutor investigating the case, Irma Llanocommented that two more people were arrested since yesterday, which brings the total number of detainees to ten.
Read more: Operation Icarus: this is how the cyber-fraud network led by an 18-year-old young man worked
The names of the new detainees have not been revealed by the authorities. He commissioner Diosnel Alarcónhead of Cybercrime of the National Police, told ABC Color that revealing the identities of those detained could jeopardize the pursuit of other suspects.
Beyond the 10 detainees, investigators point to approximately 400 people as suspected of having collaborated with the fraud scheme.
According to the Police, one of the methods that the alleged criminals used to break the traceability of the money was to transfer it from a compromised account to a third person to whom they would then say that the sending was a mistake and ask the recipient to “return” the money, but to a different account, allowing them to keep a small part as a “reward.”
Alleged 18-year-old leader
Investigators point to an 18-year-old young man as the alleged leader of the scheme, whom the prosecutor identified as “Alex”whom he described as a technology student and “a nerdy boy who liked to play, being on his computer all the time.”
“He is the one who emerges in the first trials carrying out these maneuvers and because it is his close circle, his schoolmates, friends and other close people who begin to operate with him,” said the Public Ministry agent.
Read more: From hacking to lawless cybersecurity strategy
Prosecutor Llano emphasized that the investigation is still in its infancy and that investigators still have to carry out investigations on “a lot of devices,” profiles and accounts.
She was reluctant to provide additional details about how the cyber-scam scheme worked until “to be sure that the financial system is not violated”. He commented that in the traceability of the operations carried out by the structure there are “three or four banks.”
