"We don't hunt fraud, we just register": "Distribute X" wants to be registered as an NGO, the request awaits Suljević's signature

An application for registration of the NGO DistributeX from Podgorica has been submitted to the Ministry of Regional Investment Development and Cooperation with NGOs, and the department will not check whether the organization could be involved in a network that bears the characteristics of crypto fraud.

This was told to "Vijesti" by the Ministry headed by Ernad Suljević.

In addition to confirming that they had received a request for registration in the register for DistributeX, they also said that the founders are natural persons, citizens of Montenegro, that the headquarters address is in Podgorica, that the request is being processed and that there are some irregularities, and that once they are resolved, that department will issue a decision on registration.

"The Ministry of Regional Investment Development and Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations is not responsible for determining the existence of any fraudulent activities related to the cryptocurrency market," they stated in their response.

"Vijesti" recently reported on a possible crypto scam being promoted in Podgorica under the name DistributeX (DX).

The system, as sources said, operates through an informal recruitment network, where, in addition to initial investments and for performing simple tasks - clicking online for cryptocurrencies, easy earnings and advancement through so-called VIP levels are promised.

After learning that the office had been opened, a reporter from “Vijesti” unofficially visited the premises in Podgorica, in the part of the city across the Morača River, where she saw that above one of the business premises was an advertisement that read “Distribute X, the official office of the community.” The man the reporter found said at the time that they were in the process of registering, but did not specifically answer the question about the person in charge... He sent a phone number Dore from the United Kingdom, with whom she can allegedly communicate. The same name of the reporter was also mentioned by unofficial sources, stating that Dora, and Ashley Miller, Hannah They are mentioned as alleged managers, who constantly encourage new users to join.

The man the reporter found in the office also said that DistributeX started operating in Montenegro about five months ago and so far they have about 500 users.

Cybersecurity experts with whom the editorial team communicated, based on the described model, said that things clearly point to fraud.

Branko Džakula He said that the model under which DistributeX operates “fully fits the category classified by the FBI as a “cryptocurrency job scam,” and that it has been recognized as a combination of a pyramid scheme, Ponzi scheme, and so-called task scam (fraud based on false tasks).

Specifically, he said, the FBI describes a scheme in which scammers recruit victims via WhatsApp, ask for payments in cryptocurrency, assign them simple clicking tasks on proprietary platforms, promise commissions, and escalate financial exploitation through a VIP level system.

According to the sources of "Vijesti", as well as the description in promotional materials, which the reporter came across during a visit to the office in Podgorica, DistributeX, which is being promoted in Montenegro, meets each of these criteria.

And dr Andreja Mihailović, manager of the Cybersecurity Innovation Hub at the University of Montenegro, previously assessed that based on the description, it can be cautiously concluded that the model in question shows significant overlaps with the pattern recognized in international practice as the so-called "crypto job scam" or "task scam".

The reporter also shared with her the link that a man from the Podgorica “DX” office sent her as official, through which the DX system in Montenegro operates. Mihailović said that the domain (known to the editorial staff), along with the referral code in the link where one enters through the network of existing users, clearly shows the pattern of a crypto scam.

Mihailović also pointed out that the legal entity DistributeX exists in the UK, but that this does not mean that all activities presented elsewhere under that name are connected to that entity or have a legitimate character.

"Legitimate crypto platforms and marketing companies have registered legal entities with verifiable data, tokens listed on regulated exchanges, revenues from real products or services, transparent management, and are subject to regulatory oversight," she said.

The head of the financial intelligence unit of the Police Directorate also said that the described model is a "classic pyramid scheme". Aleksandar Radovic, recently appearing on the show "Debata" on TV Vijesti.

The model, he explained, is based on the fact that one, or rather a smaller number of people, actually earns money, and in order to earn money, they involve others through the pyramid system.

In the same show, Vuk Marash from the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) said that similar platforms appear all the time:

"My appeal would be, especially to those of older age - remember Dafiment Bank and the bosses Riding"There is no system where someone gets rich overnight and where someone invests 150 euros without knowing anything about where they are investing, and in five days they will have 300. They will be left without them."

Maraš said that those who enter first may earn something, but, he added, "the average citizen will always be left without money."

"The state cannot return that money to you, because it will have no one to take it from, at the moment that pyramid scheme fails, that someone will have zero in their account. Will someone end up in prison, the question is how much they have covered themselves with paperwork, to present the type of fraud they are carrying out as a potentially risky investment and nothing else," said Maraš.

He believes that it is necessary to implement public campaigns, with the aim of educating citizens:

"This is not the first example, you have always had people in Montenegro who pay money, then click something, supposedly earn money and then lose it. And that was not enough to teach us."

Radović said that the police should also address this problem:

"But we are so overwhelmed by some forms of crime that it is a question of resources and policies in which direction, among other things, this fight goes."

The Police Directorate did not respond to earlier questions from the daily newspaper "Vijesti" about possible reports on DistributeX's operations in Montenegro, and did not comment on the possibility of crypto fraud through this scheme.