Australian police charged four Chinese nationals on Friday over an online investment scam based mainly in the United States, which authorities said caused losses of more than $100 million across the world.
The sophisticated scam involved the manipulation of legitimate electronic trading platforms licensed to foreign exchange brokers, who then provided the software to their clients, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said.
The United States Secret Service in August notified authorities about the Australian links to the predominantly U.S.-based scam, AFP said. The accused were residents of Sydney but most victims were based in the United States. Investigations into potential Australian victims were ongoing.
