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Security & Hacks · 1 min read

US Prosecutors Charge Six in Alleged Madagascar NFT Draining Scheme

An FBI affidavit details at least $516,695 stolen across 74 victim wallets using unlimited $USDT spending approvals.

Editorial oversight: Julian Mercer, Chief Editor
Bearish
$USDT $0.9987 +0.0%

At a glance Enforcement action

What happened
US authorities charged six people over an alleged Madagascar NFT wallet-draining scheme that stole at least $516,695.
Why it matters
The case highlights federal enforcement against cybercrime networks exploiting unlimited ERC-20 spending permissions.
Who is affected
Holders of the 74 victim-linked crypto wallets targeted by the scheme.
What's next
No next step announced.
Primary source
thedefiant.io: US Charges Six in Alleged Madagascar NFT Wallet-Draining Scheme

Key points

  • US authorities charged six people in an alleged Madagascar NFT wallet-draining scheme.
  • An FBI affidavit documents at least $516,695 in losses across 74 victim-linked wallets.
  • The operation leveraged unlimited $USDT spending approvals to drain user balances.

United States authorities have charged six individuals in connection with an alleged Madagascar-based non-fungible token (NFT) wallet-draining scheme, according to an affidavit from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 1.

Investigators outline that the operation resulted in at least $516,695 in documented losses across 74 victim-linked digital asset wallets 1. The court filing notes that the alleged scheme involved obtaining unlimited spending approvals for Tether ($USDT) 1.

Exploiting Token Approvals

According to the FBI affidavit, the activity centered on targeting NFT users through fraudulent spending permissions 1. Victims granted unlimited approvals for $USDT, which enabled the illicit draining outlined by federal investigators 1. Across the 74 identified wallets, the collective losses tracked by authorities reached at least $516,695 1.

The enforcement action highlights ongoing regulatory and law enforcement scrutiny regarding smart contract token approval abuse within digital asset communities 1. Federal investigators linked the alleged draining infrastructure directly to Madagascar 1. At the time of writing, Tether traded flat at $0.9987 with a broader cryptocurrency market capitalization standing at $2.66 trillion.

The charges mark a formal legal step by US authorities against the six individuals cited in the affidavit 1. The case continues the broader pattern of federal agencies using on-chain transaction analysis and technical affidavits to trace international wallet-draining networks 1.

Sources

  1. [1] US Charges Six in Alleged Madagascar NFT Wallet-Draining Scheme — thedefiant.io, October 27, 2026

Written by Basis Desk's newsroom system from the primary sources above and machine-verified against them before publication. Market figures marked "at the time of writing" come from live exchange data. Report an error: corrections@basisdesk.news · corrections policy.

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