Indian Police Uncovered a Crypto Ponzi Scheme in Pune

[Ozark]

Scammers lured about 8,000 people into their scheme by offering unrealistically high returns.

The cyber crime department of the police in Pune, the second largest city in the Indian state of Maharashtra, cracked a cryptocurrency-related Ponzi scheme, the local media outlet The Times of India reports.

Police have been after the ring members since January. Ten persons involved in the fraudulent activities, including the mastermind on the scheme Amit Bhardwaj, have now been arrested. He and is accomplices defrauded nearly 8,000 unsuspecting investors out of their money to the tune of millions of dollars.

According to the investigators, Bhardwaj promised a guaranteed monthly return over 10% to lure investors into the scheme. He claimed that his company GainBitcoin makes investments into a non-existing GB21 scheme, while in fact, the scammers spent all the money on their own lavish lifestyle.

The majority of scammed investors were from the city of Pune. However, Bhardwaj and his gang were also reported to throw luxurious parties and investor meetups in Dubai and Macau to defraud people of their money.

Following a digital forensic analysis of one of the suspect's cryptocurrency accounts, police seized 452 Bitcoins worth $1.8 million from his e-wallet. Earlier, the police confiscated 32 Bitcoins, 79.99 Ether coins and about 390,000 rupees in cash. According to investigators, the accused still have 160 Bitcoin and 80,000 ETH in their possession.

In the past six months, the police received several complaints from people who had fallen victim to this fraud. They ordered Bhardwaj to return the principal amount invested in the scheme; however, he denied all allegations.

India’s lack of clear cryptocurrency regulation and financial ignorance creates a perfect environment for crooks and wrongdoers. In the absence of regulatory guidelines and laws for the industry allow them to come unscathed in many situations as people don't know how to protect their right and where to apply.

It is not the first time Indian police has dealt with cryptocurrency related fraudulent schemes. In June, a similar case was uncovered in Thane.

SOURCE