Mumbai Police Busts $3.92 Mln In Crypto Scam, 2 Arrested

The crypto scams have grown in number over the recent years, which have spooked many investors lately. Meanwhile, in a recent development, the Navi Mumbai police busted a massive cryptocurrency scam on the 18th of October, Wednesday.

According to reports, the Navi Mumbai police seized several bank accounts involved in the crypto fraud, involving Rs.32.6 crore or around $3.92 million

Mumbai Crypto Scam

The Navi Mumbai police registered a complaint from a Mumbai resident who invested Rs 6.6 crores in the cryptocurrency market and fell victim to a scam.

The police started their investigation as soon as the first information report (FIR) was lodged. Meanwhile, the victim said a woman caller befriended him and later asked him to invest in cryptocurrency trading, with an assurance of good returns.

Believing the women, the man invested the amounts, and received an amount of Rs 75 lakh in returns, a few times. However, after a while, despite investment, he stopped getting returns.

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Navi Mumbai Police Seizes Bank Accounts

The police conducted a probe and seized bank accounts, with amounts worth Rs. 32.66 crores or around $3.92 million. Notably, Gajanan Kadam, a senior official of the cyber police station in Navi Mumbai said the probe started two months back when they received a cheating complaint in August 2023.

Based on the inputs and details of the bank accounts, the investigation led to the accused involved and the bank accounts, operating for illegal frauds.

In addition, after an investigation, two people identified as Balu Sakharam Khandagale, aged 42, and Rajendra Ramkhilavan Patel, aged 52, were arrested in connection with the crypto scam.

They were arrested from Ghatkopar region of Mumbai, Maharashtra, said the investigating police officer. The two arrested allegedly handed over mobile phones, ATMs, bank passbooks, and cheques to other people involved in the fraud. The police are interrogating the arrested accused and formed a team for the absconding.

Meanwhile, the case has been registered with the cyber police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, and further probe is underway.

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