- विज्ञापन -
Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday has launched a large-scale operation across India, conducting searches at over 60 locations as part of its probe into the GainBitcoin cryptocurrency scam, the agency in an official statement said.
The official statement also reads that coordinated searches are being carried out in cities including Delhi NCR, Pune, Chandigarh, Nanded, Kolhapur, and Bengaluru. These raids target individuals, associates, and entities suspected of laundering illicit funds linked to the scam.
Sources said that during the operation, authorities have seized several crypto wallets, incriminating digital evidence, emails, and cloud-stored data.
GainBitcoin, a Ponzi scheme launched in 2015 by Amit Bhardwaj (now deceased), Ajay Bhardwaj, and a network of agents, lured investors with promises of high monthly returns.
The scheme assured a 10% return in Bitcoin for 18 months, encouraging people to purchase Bitcoin from various exchanges and invest in GainBitcoin’s cloud mining contracts. Operating on a multi-level marketing (MLM) structure, the model relied on recruiting new investors to sustain payouts, a hallmark of pyramid schemes.
Initially, investors received Bitcoin as returns, but as the scheme started collapsing due to dwindling new investments by 2017, GainBitcoin shifted payouts to its in-house cryptocurrency, MCAP. This currency had significantly less value than Bitcoin, further misleading investors and exacerbating their financial losses.
Numerous First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed across different states, including Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, alleging large-scale fraud and money laundering. The Supreme Court later consolidated these cases, transferring them to the CBI for a unified investigation.
