Four Members of the Gang Accused of Scamming Millions From Investors Arrested by Indian Police
A recent report has revealed that a gang which allegedly carried out a virtual currency scam of about 1 billion rupees ( almost $14 million) has been apprehended by the Mumbai Police. The gang reportedly set up a cryptocurrency exchange called Cashcoin, then sold it off to investors with the promise of doubling their money.
Four Gang Members Arrested
The police in Mumbai arrested four people in relation to the scam. Investors were relieved of up to 14 million dollars. The suspects include Alpesh Baroda, 32; Kirankumar Panchsara, 38; Rajnikant Kumavat, 46; Sanjay Sontakke, 44. The four of them reportedly started Cashcoin last year.
The inspector in charge of the case, Sunil Jadhav said that: “The accused held meetings in Mumbai, Surat and other parts of Gujarat, and lured people into investing their hard-earned money by promising to double it in two months.” “Initially, the gang repaid a few investors to lure more people in and then defaulted. Their intention was to cheat.” he continued.
Additionally, charges levied against the suspects include breach of trust, criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Information Technology Act. The first complaint was lodged by an investor who lives in Surat and was allegedly swindled of 10.2 million rupees ($145,000).
The fifth Suspect is on the Run
While the police are still hunting for a fifth suspect, Ashok Goyal who was said to have played a very important role in the alleged scam but is currently on the run, they are in the process of freezing some bank accounts in the country as part of their investigation.
The fraudulent act is proof that although the Indian government is not moving fast enough in terms of creating a crypto regulatory framework and digital assets have always been considered as illegal, crypto scams can be executed successfully. The crypto climate in India is a tense one as both the central and state governments are continually closing down crypto businesses, investors are continually being cautioned against investing in virtual currencies, and even financial institutions within the country have stopped providing services to crypto exchanges within the country. A fraud like this also risks making the public more cautious of investing in virtual currencies.
