Thane Police busts Rs 500-cr cryptocurrency racket; 1 held


Team Udayavani, Jun 5, 2018, 5:22 PM IST

Thane (Maha): The Thane Police has busted an online cryptocurrency racket, which had allegedly collected an estimated Rs 500 crore from people with a promise of good returns, and has arrested one person, an official said today.

Some people had floated a company about a year back and launched their own cryptocurrency called the ‘Money Trade Coin (MTC)’, through which they promised high returns and lured people to invest about Rs 500 crore into its schemes, the police official said.

However, the company allegedly failed to pay the promised sum to the investors.

The accused allegedly posed as representatives of the Union Finance Ministry and had also prepared fake identity cards to cheat people, Thane Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said at a press conference here.

Around 25,000 people fell prey to the accused and invested money in the company, he said.

Based on a complaint by a New Delhi-based businessman, the police raided the company’s premises on the Ghodbunder Road in Thane and in suburban Vikhroli in the adjoining Mumbai yesterday and subsequently nabbed a person, identified as Taha Kazi, from Mumbra town.

Singh said the police seized 53 laptops, rubber stamps and fabricated documents during the raids, Singh said. Kazi, who was allegedly providing technical support to the company, was later arrested, another police official said.

The police are trying to ascertain the exact modus operandi of the company’s owners and how they used to run the racket. A search is on for five others for their alleged involvement in the racket, the police said.

A case has been registered against the accused under various Indian Penal Code sections for cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, the Chit Funds Act and the Information Technology Act.

Across the world, there have been heightened concerns over cryptocurrencies, also known as ‘virtual currencies’, such as Bitcoins as they are not regulated by any governments/central banks, leading to a fear of possible money laundering too.

The RBI had earlier come out with warnings to discourage the public from investing in virtual currencies.

The RBI has also asked banks not to extend banking facilities for sale or purchase of such currencies.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Ramanagara: Man assaults security guard, claims to be DCP’s son, CM Siddaramaiah’s relative

Services on Supreme Court’s YouTube channel resumes

Sinkhole swallows up truck, motorbike on Pune post office premises

Sanctity of Tirupati ‘laddu prasadam’ restored, unblemished now, says TTD

Woman cheated of Rs 3.3 lakh by Tinder friend

Kerala CM orders suspension of official over incorrect RTI response on Thrissur Pooram probe

Dasara elephants clash in Mysuru, cause panic among people

Related Articles More

Services on Supreme Court’s YouTube channel resumes

Sinkhole swallows up truck, motorbike on Pune post office premises

Gauhati HC quashes appointment of 935 police constables in Nagaland

Mockery of public accountability: Congress slams SEBI over RTI rebuff

RG Kar incident: Junior docs resume duties partially at state-run hospitals in Bengal after 42 days

MUST WATCH

Kaljiga Movie

Hearing problems in newborn’s

EAT RAJA

Santhekatte underpass road issues

Communal clash in Nagamangala Ganesha procession |


Latest Additions

Ramanagara: Man assaults security guard, claims to be DCP’s son, CM Siddaramaiah’s relative

Services on Supreme Court’s YouTube channel resumes

Karnataka likely to reject Kasturirangan report again?

Sinkhole swallows up truck, motorbike on Pune post office premises

Gauhati HC quashes appointment of 935 police constables in Nagaland

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.