In ‘ICO’ for fake crypto coin, investors lose over Rs 1,200 crore

At least 900 people were scammed of over Rs 1,200 crore after they invested in an “initial coin offering” floated by a Kerala man for a non-existent cryptocurrency, Enforcement Directorate officials said Wednesday.

ED sources said investment in fake crypto coins had taken place in 2020, mostly during the lockdown. The affected people had bought the “Morris Coin”, listed with a Coimbatore-based cryptocurrency exchange called Franc Exchange, in a manner similar to an initial public offering purchase, said officials.

“Ten Morris coins were valued at Rs 15,000 with a lock-in period of 300 days. The currency was fake. The investors were given an e-wallet and told that the coin value would boom when traded in the exchange. But the promoters of the coin siphoned out the money and illegally invested in immovable properties in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, particularly in real estate without showing any source of income,’’ said an ED source.

The agency carried out searches over the last few days in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Delhi at 11 premises of firms linked to the racket, such as the Bengaluru-based Long Rich Technologies, and Morris Trading Solutions, among others.

The searched premises also included Unni Mukundan Films Pvt. Ltd, floated by Malayalam actor Unni Mukundan, and Nextel Group, which has stakes in the hospitality industry in Kerala.

The actor told reporters that the searches were linked to a film production company launched by him….

Read more…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *