Two Estonians were arrested by United States authorities and accused with internationally defrauding “hundreds of thousands” of victims of at least $575m (£476m).

The duo, Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin, who were detained in Tallin after a lengthy FBI investigation, allegedly used a Scottish limited partnership (SLP), Ecohouse Networks, to funnel and launder the stolen money, The Times reports.

The investigation followed their cryptomining company HashFlare and an unregulated cryptocurrency bank called Polybius.

Nick Brown, the US attorney for the Western District of Washington, said: “The size and scope of the alleged scheme is truly astounding. These defendants capitalised on both the allure of cryptocurrency, and the mystery surrounding cryptocurrency mining, to commit an enormous Ponzi scheme.”

He continued: “They lured investors with false representations and then paid early investors off with money from those who invested later.

“They tried to hide their ill-gotten gain in Estonian properties, luxury cars, and bank accounts and virtual currency wallets around the world. US and Estonian authorities are working to seize and restrain these assets and take the profit out of these crimes.”

The indictment of Mr Potapenko and Mr Turogin along with four other unidentified co-conspirators was unsealed in Seattle, Washington, this week. They now face 16 claims of wire fraud, one of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one of conspiracy to commit money-laundering from December 2013 and August 2022.

Ecohouse Networks, the Scottish vehicle used in the case, was created in 2014. Companies house filings show its registered address moved from one virtual office in Edinburgh to another last week. As an SLP, there is no requirement to file public accounts and the company has not declared any identifiable officer or beneficiary.