Key Highlights
- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) uncovered a major crypto scam that cheated investors of crores of rupees through fake online platforms.
- Search operations were conducted in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, and Chandigarh, and 18 bank accounts were frozen.
- Haryana Police filed an FIR against four individuals for running the fake Crypto World Trading Company.
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered a major cryptocurrency scam that tricked investors out of crores of rupees through fake online platforms.
The ED’s official press release revealed that search operations were carried out on December 24 at nine locations across Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, and Chandigarh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Incriminating documents, digital evidence, and 18 bank accounts with stolen money exceeding ₹22 lakh were seized. Further, cash worth ₹4 lakh was recovered, and immovable properties to the value of about ₹3 crores were also identified.
The case is a result of a first information report (FIR) filed by the Haryana police against four people: Vikas Kalra, Tarun Taneja, Kapil Kumar, and Pawan Kumar. The four are accused of running the said fake entity called Crypto World Trading Company.
The accused were said to have established fake cryptocurrency accounts and received investments into their own accounts, followed by transactions through their families and friends in a bid to cover their tracks. Some of this money was invested in purchasing properties in the name of their families.
ED busts major crypto scams in India
Last month, the ED uncovered several major cryptocurrency scams across the country.
On December 13, the ED raided eight locations in both Himachal Pradesh and Punjab for a ₹2,300 crore Ponzi-MLM crypto scam. The perpetrators were allegedly led by Subhash Sharma, who had fled India in 2023, with fake crypto platforms such as Korvio, Voscrow, DGT, Hypenext, and A-Global.
Investors had been promised high returns, but the money of new participants was used to pay earlier ones. It also documented token price manipulation and money laundering through the use of shell companies and family accounts.
Only a few days earlier, on December 23, the ED revealed a pan-India syndicate operating a minimum of 26 fake crypto investment websites, including goldbooker.com, fincorp.com, wozur.com, and cryptobrite.com.
These guilty parties employed the use of images of popular celebrities, AI-generated content, and small gains for initial convincing actions through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and even Telegram platforms.
Further payments were made into India and abroad through various crypto accounts, foreign accounts, and hawala payments, with some proceeds from crime used to purchase movables and immovables.
These actions are indicative of the ED’s sustained effort to confront online financial fraud and to protect investors from cryptocurrency fraud.
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