That doesn't explain how or even if it was monero that was compromised or the valorous launderers of money simply screwed up with basic opsec.  

 So they claim. 

 That's what I'm wondering.  

 my .02 USD after reading the Nikkei source article 

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzp7v96vy3jlyqtct3n3e3sk6hflp7usra0sdkz477axwx4n39nxamqywhwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnzd96xxmmfdejhytnnda3kjctv9uq32amnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwv3sk6atn9e5k7tcqyrk8k4jmatxs33375vc5g857ldus53y2f29kzsvhantdq3gaz2u5vqdak2y 

 thats the wrong note but its in there somewhere.

Basically they say they "analyze the flow of Monero"
But it's worthwhile to note that Monero is illegal in Japan so "analyze the flow" could just mean that they know some Monero was sent and they found a suspect in possession of some. 

 Yup. I am guessing that someone forgot to use a VPN or tor and made a transfer.  

 Not using a VPN or Tor doesnt enable tracking sender or receiver.

like
at all. 

 OK.  

 are you for real?

Cointelegraph puts out *more* clickbait and you think it means something?! 

 D:

nostr:note1h5rdrcaqvwnae7km7e4xkggg9wv493ckulqx9jg9l6nusl9a328ssh5gf0 

 
Is there a debate in reddit around this. And here is a very interesting opinion:

"Very click-baity title, here's the translation of the original article. They tracked down the flow of credit cards with which scamers were dealing with and trying to convert it into Monero."

https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/1g8pkih/comment/lt06xe6/

Other comments are more ambiguous like "money can't fix dumb" but without elaborating further. 

 Cool.  

 "They followed the flow of funds after they left Monero and cashed out on completely traceable credit cards - so that means they traced Monero!!!"
https://image.nostr.build/7875824c3de86c31f6f7f96a31a4f90e94cc195d1b778737b2a3dc961c7adac6.jpg