By stealing an encrypted key, he allegedly stole millions of dollars in virtual money: Montreal police arrested a suspected cryptocurrency thief this week. After the man fled in Europe, he now has to stand trial.
Posted at 3:16 p.m.
Investigators from the southern region of the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) have gotten their hands on Djuliano Jovanovic. The defendant was previously on the run. He is said to have been involved in a major cryptocurrency theft three years ago.
The 37-year-old man is in custody in France, a country from which he was extradited at the request of Canada, police said in a press release.
With the help of two accomplices, he is said to have hatched a complex plan that enabled him to steal an encrypted key containing cryptocurrencies. The value of the virtual money contained therein was estimated at several million dollars at the time of the events.
The trio allegedly met their victims, two American citizens, at hotels in downtown Montreal in January 2020 to confiscate the loot. The victims soon filed a complaint with the SPVM, so an investigative team was able to catch the three suspects the following February 12.
A long run in Europe
The three men appeared at the Montreal courthouse the day after their arrest.
Jovanovic was released on the condition that he wear a GPS bracelet so authorities can locate him. A few days later he got rid of this tool before fleeing.
The suspected bandit first traveled to the USA, from where he took a plane to Romania. However, his run ended in France, where his flight made a stopover. The French authorities received his report thanks to an international wanted report from the SPVM.
Jovanovic was initially sent back to Italy, where he was also prosecuted. During the court proceedings in this country, the suspected thief managed to escape again. He was the subject of an Interpol red alert, but was arrested again in 2022 while attempting to enter French territory.
Djuliano Jovanovic appears in the Montreal courthouse today to answer charges of theft, fraud, receiving stolen property, identity theft and laundering the proceeds of crime.