Pune Police has launched a probe into a multi-crore cryptocurrency ‘fraud’ and booked the founder of cryptocurrency investment platform BitConnect, Satish Kumbhani.
Kumbhani has earlier been indicted in a US court for orchestrating an international Ponzi scheme worth US$ 2.4 billion and is now being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
An FIR was registered at the Cyber police station on Tuesday by a Pune-based lawyer who told the police that he lost close to 220 bitcoins — equivalent to over Rs 42 crore as on Wednesday — through cryptocurrency investment platforms. The lawyer has named Kumbhani (36) and six others.
The FIR states that the complainant was defrauded of his original investment of 54 bitcoins and returns of 166 bitcoins. The transactions took place between 2016 and June 2021. No arrests have been made yet and a search for the accused has been launched. Officials said they will also probe whether the same set of accused has cheated more people.
Police said that according to their preliminary inquiry, Kumbhani, an Indian national and founder of BitConnect, was in February indicted over a $2.4 billion cryptocurrency scam.
Senior Inspector D S Hake, from the cyber crime police station, said the case was registered and a probe has been
launched.
A press statement on February 25 on Kumbhani’s indictment from the Department of Justice, US government, stated, “A federal grand jury in San Diego returned an indictment today charging the…
