India’s ED is investigating Raj Kundra in a $800m cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, seizing property and linking him to a failed Bitcoin mining mission.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing Raj Kundra, a outstanding businessman and husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, regarding a cash laundering case linked to a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme dubbed ‘Achieve Bitcoin.’ Notably, Kundra will not be the principle suspect on this investigation.
Within the ongoing probe, the ED has confiscated property value roughly $12 million, together with a Mumbai flat owned by Shilpa Shetty.
Launched in 2017 by Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj, ‘Achieve Bitcoin’ promised traders a return of 10% per thirty days, payable in Bitcoin, and shortly amassed about $800 million.
The scheme initially operated by distributing returns to early traders utilizing the funds from new individuals. Nonetheless, as recruiting new traders grew to become difficult, the payouts stopped. The organizers then transformed the remaining funds into Bitcoins and hid them in nameless digital wallets.
Investigations have revealed that Kundra acquired 285 Bitcoins, now value over $18 million, from Amit Bhardwaj, the promoter behind the scheme. The tokens have been purportedly supposed for a Bitcoin mining mission in Ukraine that by no means materialized, and reviews counsel Kundra nonetheless holds them.
Kundra and Shetty have denied any hyperlinks to the scheme and stay assured they are going to be cleared of all expenses as soon as the investigation is accomplished.
The emergence of the ‘Achieve Bitcoin’ rip-off coincides with elevated scrutiny by Indian regulators over illicit actions involving cryptocurrencies.
Final month, the Enforcement Directorate escalated its efforts by submitting a cost sheet towards 299 entities below India’s stringent anti-money laundering legal guidelines. The authorized motion was a response to a sequence of frauds the place traders have been misled by guarantees associated to crypto mining ventures.
Moreover, the panorama of cryptocurrency scams in India is evolving, with a brand new sample rising amongst fraudsters. Not too long ago, there was an increase in scams the place perpetrators pose as job recruiters. These malicious actors goal unsuspecting job seekers, providing them roles that purportedly contain dealings in cryptocurrencies or associated tasks, solely to defraud them.