As Kent Halliburton stood in a toilet on the Rosewood Lodge in central Amsterdam, hundreds of miles from house, operating his fingers by way of an envelope stuffed with €10,000 in crisp banknotes, he began to surprise what he had gotten himself into.
Halliburton is the cofounder and CEO of Sazmining, an organization that operates bitcoin mining {hardware} on behalf of purchasers—a mannequin often known as “mining-as-a-service.” Halliburton is predicated in Peru, however Sazmining runs mining {hardware} out of third-party knowledge facilities throughout Norway, Paraguay, Ethiopia, and the USA.
As Halliburton tells it, he had flown to Amsterdam the day gone by, August 5, to satisfy Even and Maxim, two representatives of a rich Monaco-based household. The household workplace had supplied to buy tons of of bitcoin mining rigs from Sazmining—round $4 million price—which the corporate would set up at a facility presently underneath building in Ethiopia. Earlier than finalizing the deal, the household workplace had requested to satisfy Halliburton in individual.
When Halliburton arrived on the Rosewood Lodge, he discovered Even and Maxim perched in a sales space. They struck him as playboy, high-roller sorts—notably Maxim, who wore a tan three-piece go well with and had a extremely manicured look, his lengthy darkish hair parted down the center. A Rolex protruded from the cuff of his sleeve.
Over a three-course lunch—ceviche with a roe garnish, Chilean sea bass, and cherry cake—they mentioned the contours of the deal and traded particulars about their respective backgrounds. Even was talkative and jocular, telling tales about blowout events in Marrakech. Maxim was aloof; he largely stared at Halliburton, holding his gaze for lengthy intervals at a time as if sizing him up.
As a relationship-building train, Even proposed that Halliburton promote the household workplace round $3,000 in bitcoin. Halliburton was initially hesitant, however chalked it up as a peculiar relationship ritual. One of many guys slid Halliburton the cash-filled envelope and instructed him to go to the lavatory, the place he might depend out the quantity in non-public. “It felt like one thing out of a James Bond film,” says Halliburton. “It was all very unique to me.”
Halliburton left in a taxi, considerably bemused by the encounter, however in any other case hopeful of closing the take care of the household workplace. For Sazmining, a small firm with round 15 workers, it promised to be transformative.
Lower than two weeks later, Halliburton had misplaced greater than $200,000 price of bitcoin to Even and Maxim. He didn’t know whether or not Sazmining might survive the blow, nor how the scammers had ensnared him.