New Delhi, February 26 – In a major breakthrough in the GainBitcoin scam case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has seized cryptocurrencies valued at over ₹23.94 crore during a two-day nationwide search operation that concluded on Wednesday.
The operation, spanning multiple locations across India, also seized crucial evidence, including multiple hardware crypto wallets, 121 documents, 34 laptops and hard disks, 12 mobile phones, and extensive digital communication data from emails and messaging applications.
Expanding the Investigation
"Following the nationwide searches on February 25 and 26, the CBI has secured significant incriminating evidence and virtual digital assets, further exposing the magnitude of the cryptocurrency fraud," stated a CBI spokesperson.Officials confirmed that the seized electronic devices have been sent for forensic analysis to trace the misappropriation of funds and potential international transactions linked to the scam.
Widespread Search Operation
The search operation covered 60 locations in Delhi, Pune, Nanded, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Mohali, Jhansi, and Hubli as part of the ongoing investigation.GainBitcoin Scam: A Multi-Level Deception
GainBitcoin, a Ponzi scheme allegedly orchestrated by Amit Bhardwaj (now deceased) and his brother Ajay Bhardwaj, operated under the guise of Variable Tech Pvt. Ltd. since 2015. The fraudulent operation promised investors a 10% monthly return in Bitcoin for 18 months, encouraging them to buy the cryptocurrency from external exchanges and deposit it in "cloud mining" contracts.The scheme followed a multi-level marketing (MLM) model, commonly associated with pyramid schemes, where returns depended on recruiting new investors. Initially, payouts were made in Bitcoin, reinforcing the illusion of profitability. However, as new investments declined in 2017, the fraud unraveled.
To sustain the scam, GainBitcoin unilaterally switched payouts to its in-house cryptocurrency, MCAP, which had a significantly lower value than Bitcoin, further deceiving investors.
A Case of National and International Significance
Due to the scam’s vast scale and intricate operations across multiple states, several FIRs were registered from Jammu and Kashmir to Maharashtra and from Delhi to West Bengal. The Supreme Court transferred the investigation to the CBI, citing the case’s complexity and international ramifications.The CBI is now intensifying its probe to identify all implicated parties and trace the misappropriated funds, including those potentially transferred abroad.
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