The mastermind was planning to flee to Sri Lanka, caught by CBI at the airport; First major arrest:

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started tightening its grip on the country’s most talked about and sensational Bitcoin scam worth around ₹20,000 crore. The investigating agency has got its first major success in this mega fraud case. CBI has arrested ‘Darwin Labs’ co-founder Ayush Varshney. The incident of arrest was no less than a film scene; Despite the Look Out Circular (LOC), the accused was trying to leave the country and flee to Colombo, Sri Lanka, but the vigilance of the security personnel deployed at the airport and the CBI put him behind the bars.

A web of fraud was woven through GainBitcoin

The roots of this entire scam are related to the ‘GainBitcoin’ scheme started in the year 2015. According to the investigating agencies, the main architects of this Ponzi scheme were Amit Bhardwaj (who has now died), his brother Ajay Bhardwaj and some of his close associates. These people resorted to ‘Bitcoin mining’ to trap innocent investors with their words. To attract investors, huge returns of 10 percent every month were promised. It was claimed that the company is mining Bitcoin on a large scale and the profits from it will be distributed among investors.

Dangerous nexus of multi-level marketing and Ponzi scheme

The investigation revealed the shocking revelation that this was not an investment scheme, but a Ponzi scheme running in the name of Multi-Level Marketing (MLM). In this, old investors got profits only when they lured new people into this trap and got them to invest. Due to this ‘chain system’, this scam quickly spread across the country including big cities like Delhi-NCR, Pune, Chandigarh and Bengaluru. Initially some people were paid in Bitcoin to gain trust, but by 2017 the reality started coming to light. The company suddenly started giving payments in its own fake currency ‘MCAP’ instead of Bitcoin, the actual value of which was negligible.

Nationwide action of CBI on the instructions of Supreme Court

Thousands of people who were victims of fraud had filed complaints in different states. Considering the seriousness of the case and its scope, in December 2023, the Supreme Court had given a historic order to hand over the investigation of all FIRs to the CBI. After this, CBI came into action mode and conducted rapid raids at more than 60 locations in the country. Many important documents and digital evidence have been seized in this search operation conducted in cities like Nanded, Kolhapur and Pune. Investigation has also revealed that this scam is also linked to the Hawala network.

Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty’s property on ED radar

The seriousness of this matter can be gauged from the fact that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also investigating this case in depth under money laundering. ED has so far attached properties worth crores, which also include six luxurious offices in Dubai. In the context of this investigation, in April 2024, ED had also taken major action against businessman Raj Kundra, husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Kundra’s properties worth around ₹97.79 crore were attached, which include a flat in Juhu and a bungalow in Pune. The investigating agency alleges that the accused parked investors’ money abroad through digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ether and USDT.

Misappropriation of 29,000 bitcoins, main accused still absconding

According to estimates, about 29,000 bitcoins were involved in this mega scam, whose market value today is in thousands of crores. Although the arrest of Ayush Varshney has given new hope to the CBI, the main accused Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj are still out of the grip of the law. The investigating agencies are now also seeking cooperation from foreign governments so that the money of this digital robbery can be tracked. At present, the interrogation of Ayush Varshney is going on and it is believed that in the coming days some more influential faces may come under the grip of CBI.