SIT arrests 7 more in cryptocurrency scam

Sameer Singh

Shimla, October 24

The special investigation team (SIT) of state police has arrested seven more persons in connection with the multi-crore cryptocurrency scam. With complaints continuing to pour in, the scam amount has gone up to Rs 2,300 crore. Lakhs of investors might have been duped by the scamsters. The latest arrests were made on Monday. Nine persons have been arrested in the case so far.

Earlier, two kingpins of the scam were arrested from Gujarat. Those arrested so far are from Mandi, Hamirpur, Kangra among other locations. One of the arrested persons is from Zirakpur.

Abhishek Dullar, DIG (Northern Range) and head of the SIT, said, “All seven persons have been remanded in police custody for 10 days. The investigation is ongoing with a focus on gathering evidence and tracing the financial trail to bring all those involved to justice.”

“The operation revealed their involvement in luring unsuspecting victims into cryptocurrency-related scheme. One of the accused was responsible for managing the back-end office activities, including maintaining database, coordinating communications and overseeing the technical aspects of the fraudulent schemes. Another accused was found to be managing the financial transactions related to the scheme, handling the inflow and outflow of funds,” added Dullar.

The SIT has urged the public to be very careful while picking up investment opportunities, particularly in cryptocurrency. Anyone with information related to the case is encouraged to come forward and assist in the ongoing investigation.

On being asked about the arrest of one of the kingpins, Subhash, who allegedly had absconded to a foreign location, Dullar said, “He has not been arrested yet and that efforts are on in that direction.”

Regarding the involvement of police personnel in the scam, he said, “Police personnel were investors just like people from various occupations who were duped by the scammers.”

Earlier in the month, the Punjab Police had arrested three suspects including a former HP constable. The scammers lured people by promising them high returns on their investment and then duped them of their hard-earned money. The accused started the scam in 2018 and dealt in Korvio cryptocurrency, Hypenext; DGT Coin.

The state police have also been taking assistance of the Central agency Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to ascertain the trail of financial transactions made by the accused. The SIT has already sought assistance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India, besides eight other agencies.

Remanded In 10-day police custody

All seven persons have been remanded in police custody for 10 days. The investigation is ongoing with a focus on gathering evidence and tracing the financial trail to bring all those involved to justice. — Abhishek Dullar, DIG (northern range) and SIT head