NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids at 60 places in five states across the country on February 25 and 26, seizing cryptocurrencies worth Rs 23.94 crore and other incriminating evidence to further unravel the extent of the crime related to the GainBitcoin scam, estimated to be worth Rs 6,600 crore, officials said on Wednesday.
According to the officials, CBI sleuths conducted raids in Delhi; Pune, Nanded, Kolhapur, and Mumbai in Maharashtra; Bengaluru and Hubli in Karnataka; Chandigarh; Mohali in Punjab; and Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.
A senior CBI official said, “The fraudulent scheme, launched in 2015 by Amit Bhardwaj (deceased since), along with Ajay Bhardwaj and others, had promised investors 10 per cent monthly returns on Bitcoin investments for 18 months. The scheme followed a multi-level marketing (MLM) structure, enticing investors through lucrative commissions for referrals.”
Although initial payouts were made in Bitcoin, as the scheme collapsed in 2017, payouts were switched to an in-house cryptocurrency, MCAP, which had significantly lower value, further defrauding the investors, the officials alleged.
“During the searches, the agency seized cryptocurrencies, multiple hardware crypto wallets, 121 documents, 34 laptops/hard disks, 12 mobile phones, and multiple email and instant messaging app dumps,” the CBI official said, adding that the seized documents and electronic devices are currently under analysis to uncover the extent of the crime and potential international transactions linked to it.
Earlier, several FIRs were registered in different parts of the country, alleging large-scale fraud and money laundering, the official said, adding: “Given the vast scale and complexity of the scam, cases registered in various states, including Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, were transferred to the CBI by the Supreme Court.”
The CBI took over these cases and launched the probe to identify all those involved and track down the funds, the officials said.
It is to be noted that the Enforcement Directorate (ED), based on CBI FIRs, is already investigating the cases under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and has attached properties in India and abroad, including six offices in Dubai.