A staggering crypto scam in India has entangled over 1,000 police officials and defrauded more than 250,000 victims of approximately Rs 2,000 crore, equivalent to $240 million. The fraudulent scheme was designed as a Ponzi-style operation, luring investors with the promise of substantial returns from two fictitious cryptocurrencies known as Korvio Coin (KRO) and DGT Coin.
The scam preyed on victims by presenting them with the allure of Bitcoin-like profits. To achieve this, the perpetrators manipulated the prices of non-existent cryptocurrencies on counterfeit websites. Investors were also incentivized to recruit new participants, using the funds from these recruits to pay earlier investors.
Startlingly, some police officers from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district were among the victims, losing substantial sums of money to the scammers. While some chose to recover their losses and move on, others became promoters of the scheme, leveraging their status in the local community to draw in more unsuspecting victims.
Senior police sources revealed that this is a massive scam involving around Rs 2,000 crore and an estimated 250,000 investors. Two individuals who were apprehended have reportedly confessed to having a staggering debt of $48 million (Rs 400 crore) owed to the investors who fell victim to the crypto scam.
Responding to speculation of police involvement, Sanjay Kundu, the director general of police in Himachal Pradesh, assured the public at a press conference that all those implicated would be dealt with in accordance with the law. He emphasized the ongoing and organized nature of the investigation, stating, “We will get all the wrongdoers.”
Earlier in the month, a special investigation team (SIT) conducted searches across 35 locations spanning seven districts and one police district in Himachal Pradesh. These operations resulted in the seizure of significant evidence, including property records, documents, electronic devices, and mobile phones. They also led to the arrest of seven individuals.
To date, a total of nine people have been arrested in connection with the fraudulent scheme, with two of them, known as Sukhdev and Hemraj, admitting to owing over Rs 400 crore ($48 million) in liabilities linked to the scam.
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