Law enforcement has recorded a case of five people who are suspected of running an Indian cryptocurrency scam that has been duping investors for over three years. Although the alleged fraud has been running for several years, the suspects are believed to only get away with a little recompense of about $34,200.
According to a report by New Indian Express on June 13, the five individuals were allegedly booked for hoodwinking investors in the disguise of virtual assets investment. The Indian cryptocurrency scam was single-handedly operated by the five suspects in Maharashtra state’s district of Palghar.
The scammers promised investors massive returns if they venture into their cryptocurrency investments. According to the report, the group solicited payments in the form of cash and bank cheques. However, the group became highly vague while interacting with the investors after receiving the funds as per the local police.
In the meantime, none of the five individuals has been detained so far. In March, two brothers, Amrit Bhardwaj and Vivek Bhardwaj were indicted by the authorities for running the multi-level marketing crypto scam GainBitcoin. The two have since been moved from the cyber Cell to an Indian police crime unit.
Police cracking down Indian Cryptocurrency Scam
The law enforcement in India has recently stepped up its efforts to crack down cyber crimes and crypto-related crimes. The police recently announced plans to develop an AI-powered web portal for dark web policing. Besides, law enforcement has also partnered with foreign regulators to apprehend free-market vendors dealing with unlicensed pharmaceuticals or drugs
Furthermore, the notion that cryptocurrencies may facilitate illegal activities might prove costly for the Indian crypto community. Recently, the Indian Ministry of Finance proposed another blanket ban on cryptocurrencies in the country; just three months after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted the banking services ban.