The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has confiscated assets worth roughly $12 million in an ongoing probe, including a Mumbai flat owned by Shilpa Shetty. The scheme, ‘Gain Bitcoin’, launched in 2017 by Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj, promised investors a return of 10% per month, payable in Bitcoin, and amassed about $800 million. Initially, it operated by distributing returns to early investors using funds from new participants. However, as recruiting new investors became challenging, the payouts stopped.
The organizers then converted the remaining funds into Bitcoins and hid them in anonymous digital wallets. Investigations have revealed that businessman Raj Kundra received 285 Bitcoins, now worth over $18 million, from Amit Bhardwaj, the promoter behind the scheme. The tokens were purportedly intended for a Bitcoin mining project in Ukraine that never materialized, and reports suggest Kundra still holds them. Kundra and Shetty have denied any links to the scheme and remain confident they will be cleared of all charges once the investigation is completed.
The emergence of the ‘Gain Bitcoin’ scam coincides with increased scrutiny by Indian regulators over illicit activities involving cryptocurrencies. Legal action was taken in response to a series of frauds where investors were misled by promises related to crypto mining ventures. Furthermore, the landscape of cryptocurrency scams in India is evolving, with a new pattern emerging among fraudsters. These malicious actors target unsuspecting job seekers, offering them roles that purportedly involve dealings in cryptocurrencies or related projects, only to defraud them.
