Clients of Estonia’s e-residency project linked to crypto scams

About a third of companies providing crypto-currency services have at least one e-resident as a related party. — AFP

Foreigners granted remote access to Estonia’s digital infrastructure through its e-residency programme are being linked to crypto-currency frauds abroad, threatening efforts to repair the Baltic nation’s image after one of Europe’s largest money laundering scandals.

Companies registered overseas and headed by Estonian e-residents have been involved in "a few large-scale exit scams,” the police’s Financial Intelligence Unit said last week in a report, referring to a form of deception where clients are unable to withdraw their assets.