India’s Enforcement Directorate is investigating an alleged $35 million (₹337 crore) scam in which self-styled crypto “Key Opinion Leaders” promised investors steeply discounted token allocations that were never delivered, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
What the ED Alleges
The ED’s Bengaluru Zonal Office initiated the investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on the basis of a First Information Report registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station, South Andaman. The complaint was filed by a Dutch entity alleging a large-scale scam in over-the-counter trades of virtual digital assets.
The agency named Mohammed Waseem, Saurabh Diwan, and Vaibhav Gupta as accused and said funds obtained through the alleged scheme were routed to Ravindra K., based in Bengaluru, whom investigators describe as the mastermind behind the OTC business.
Searches were conducted at multiple locations on 15 and 19 July. The ED said the operation is ongoing and that further investigation is in progress. The press release contained no response from any of the named individuals, and the allegations have not been tested in court.
How the Scheme Allegedly Worked
The ED set out a seven-step modus operandi that describes a confidence scheme built on social proof rather than technical exploitation.
According to the agency, the accused presented themselves as “Key Opinion Leaders” in the crypto industry and promoted virtual digital asset placements through Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram. They claimed to hold tie-ups with blockchain developers that gave them access to allotments from initial token offerings and private placements at a discount.
The alleged method turned on establishing credibility first. Investigators said the accused initially fulfilled smaller commitments and completed early OTC transactions smoothly, which “methodically induced” the complainant into committing significantly larger sums. Only after receiving multi-million-dollar investments did the accused allegedly stop delivering tokens—specifically, the ED said, as market conditions surged and the promised discounts became more costly to honor.
The agency alleges the proceeds were then diverted to personal use, including investments in movable and immovable property, personal expenses, and business purposes.
The Named Tokens Are Not Implicated
The ED’s release lists MultiversX, Kava, BEAM, GRASS, SUI, VANA, and AGLD as the tokens involved. The distinction matters: these are the assets the accused allegedly claimed they could supply at a discount, not projects accused of any wrongdoing.
The projects themselves have no role in the allegations. In fact, several publicly disavowed exactly this kind of arrangement well before the ED’s action. In mid-2025, a member of the SUI team stated plainly on X that no such deal existed, and MultiversX co-founder Lucian Mincu issued a similar warning cautioning investors against participating in discounted OTC offers claiming project backing.
Those warnings are relevant context for anyone evaluating similar offers now: the projects whose names carry credibility in these pitches are typically the first to deny involvement.
A Pattern the Industry Flagged a Year Ago
The scheme the ED describes closely resembles one that surfaced publicly in the crypto industry in June 2025, when a network of discounted token OTC deals distributed through Telegram collapsed.
In that case, investors were offered steep discounts on allocations across a list of tokens that overlaps substantially with the ED’s—including SUI, Kava, GRASS, BEAM, VANA, and Adventure Gold. Distributions stopped abruptly in mid-2025, with recipients given explanations involving travel delays, exchange issues, and KYC complications. A venture group that had been distributing the deals subsequently stated publicly that it had itself been defrauded, describing a structure in which new investor money was used to satisfy earlier commitments.
On-chain investigator ZachXBT criticized participants at the time for inadequate due diligence, noting that the projects involved had already issued warnings.
The Crypto Times is not asserting a connection between that episode and the individuals named by the ED. The agency’s release does not reference it, and no such link has been established publicly. What the overlap illustrates is that the method the ED describes has been operating in the market, at scale, for more than a year.
Almost Nothing Was Recovered
The searches produced digital devices, emails, and wallet records the ED said were used to siphon proceeds of crime. The seized digital assets amounted to 8,790 USDT (₹8.46 lakh).
Against an alleged scam value of roughly $35 million (₹337 crore), that recovery represents approximately 0.025%.
The scale gap also runs the other way. The FIR reported losses of about $10 million (₹96 crore), but the ED said its searches revealed the true figure to be nearer $35 million (₹337 crore), because investigators identified additional foreign entities and investors who were allegedly defrauded in the same manner. Many of them, the agency said, have not filed criminal complaints at all — meaning the recorded figure likely understates the total.
Part of a Widening Crackdown
The case adds to a rapid sequence of Indian crypto enforcement actions. In the past six weeks alone, the ED has arrested three people over an alleged ₹500 crore Korvio Coin Ponzi scheme affecting more than 248,000 investors, attached ₹55.5 crore in Mumbai property tied to ATC Coin, dismantled a ₹303 crore cyber fraud ring whose crypto trail led to Dubai, and conducted searches across 19 locations in a work-from-home investment fraud.
What separates this investigation is the victim profile. Those cases involved mass-market schemes aimed at retail investors through multi-level marketing structures. This one allegedly targeted participants sophisticated enough to transact millions in OTC crypto deals—and used their familiarity with private allocations and early-stage discounts as the mechanism of the con.
ED Director Rahul Navin has said crypto fraud is now a core enforcement priority for the agency, which filed 812 chargesheets during 2025–26 while expanding its use of blockchain analysis.
