On Friday, the United Kingdom government announced that an insolvency inquiry into Micasa WW Ltd and Remultex Ltd showed that between February 2019 and December 2020, the companies engaged in bitcoin fraud, transferring close to £1.3 million through their accounts without any trace.

In a press release, the United Kingdom says the two companies fumbled the bag during interrogation about the unrecorded hefty transfers forcing the High Court to order liquidation and close of their accounts on grounds of lack of accountability.

“Micasa, along with associated company Remultex, both shut down after accounts failed to explain large payments, and misuse of Bounce Back Loans” the press release read in part.

Companies can’t account for £50,000 BBL

Investigators who led the probe found that the companies transferred a £50,000 bounce-back loan and there was a single record or documentation showing they abide by the rules while moving the lump sum of cash. Remultex had a bounce-back loan in the amount of £30,000, even when its account didn’t qualify to receive the funds.

“The company had been identified as potentially involved in a cryptocurrency scam, although the lack of accounting records meant it was not possible to verify whether its business was legitimate trading activity. Investigators did identify that it had secured a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan (BBL), although there was also no evidence that the company was eligible under the scheme rules” the press release announced.

A Manchester High Court Judge ruled that it is in the best interest of the public to shut down the companies given the fact that are violating the trade policies and are operating without a commercial “probity” which had led to illicit money transfers.

“As part of their duties, the Official Receiver as Liquidator will seek to recover and realize the assets of the company to make returns to creditors,” said David Hope, the Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service.

Crypto crime on the rise

As cryptocurrency gains momentum, crypto crime has become a major issue forcing law enforcement agencies to investigate illicit blockchain transactions.

In 2020 alone, about $10 billion was swindled in illicit money flows, according to data provided by Chainalysis, and in 2021, the crime rate dramatically increased to $14 billion of overall cryptocurrency transactions.

For Be[In]Crypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here.