Pramesh S Jain
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken major action in an alleged cryptocurrency fraud case involving ₹336 crore and filed a money laundering case.
A Dutch national is accused of defrauding him of crores of rupees.
The investigating agency has raided several locations, including Bengaluru,and gathered crucial evidence.The ED claims that the mastermind of this scam is Ravindra K.,a resident of Bengaluru,and that he targeted foreign investors in a similar manner.
According to the ED,this case emerged from an FIR filed at the Cyber Crime Police Station in South Andaman.
The FIR was filed based on a complaint from a Dutch national alleging large-scale fraud in the name of cryptocurrency investment.
Based on this FIR,the Enforcement Directorate registered a money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and initiated an investigation.
During the investigation,the agency examined all transactions and investment documents.
The ED stated that the accused,after receiving investments worth millions of dollars from investors, failed to provide them with digital tokens on time.
It is alleged that as the market price of these tokens increased, the accused stopped distributing tokens to investors and failed to fulfill their promises.
According to the investigating agency,the total amount of this alleged scam is approximately US$35 million,or approximately ₹336 crore.This amount is much higher than the $10 million stated in the police FIR.
The investigation revealed that this alleged fraud was perpetrated through over-the-counter (OTC) crypto trading.
The digital tokens invested in included MultiverseX, Kava,BEAM,GRASS,SUI,VANA,and AGLD,among other crypto assets.
The ED’s Bengaluru unit conducted raids at several locations on July 18 and 19 in connection with this case.
During the investigation,several important digital records related to investments and crypto transactions were also examined.
The Enforcement Directorate stated that preliminary investigations have found evidence that the investment funds reached Ravindra K.,a resident of Bengaluru.
The agency has identified him as the mastermind of this alleged fraud.The investigation also revealed that the accused defrauded not only the Dutch citizen but also several other foreign investors in a similar manner.
However,these foreign investors have not yet filed any criminal complaints in India.
During the ED raid,the agency also seized approximately 87,000 USDT (Tether) cryptocurrency.
The investigating agency is now conducting a forensic examination of the seized digital assets, bank accounts, and crypto wallets.
Officials believe that as the investigation progresses, more significant revelations may emerge in this case, and information about other victimized foreign investors may also be revealed.
