Indian police allegedly discovered a multi-million dollar cryptocurrency scam, involving a BitConnect promoter, as reported by local media outlet the Times of India on June 3.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Gujarat, India, has accused a certain Divyesh Darji, a promoter of now-defunct cryptocurrency investment program BitConnect, whose operations were ceased in January of last year for luring people to invest into “Regal Coin.”
He purportedly promised unrealistic returns as high as 5,000% on investment. As per a CID official, the estimated amount of the scam is escalated into tens of millions of rupees. The CID further elaborated that Darji started offering the investment scheme back in 2017 and asked the potential investors to invest $2 to buy a coin for a promised return of $100 on each Regal Coin. The CID official said:
“Darji had promised that the investor would get the principal amount in 99 days. He had also promised to give interest on principal amount as per robotic trading profit along with 1% to 1.6% bonus as referral bonus at every 11 days.”
A Surat resident named Vishal Savalia brought the scam to the limelight as he approached the CID, claiming of loosing around $26,783 in the Regal Coin scam. A CID official elaborated further:
“Savalia had allegedly given the money to Darji’s daughter, Dimki through another accused and Darji’s aide, Ramdayal Purohit and Dimki herself had downloaded Regal Coin app in Savalia’s cellphone and get him registered on its website.”
As per the police, presently only Purohit is under arrest and Darji was released on bail a month ago and is on the lam. This accounts as the third case involving Darji.
The Indian police arrested Darji for allegedly promoting BitConnect and scamming investors at the end of August 2018. Darji reportedly claimed himself as being the India head of BitConnect. The CID quotes the staff of BitCoinnect’s Surat office, claiming promoters had amassed “crores of rupees from thousands of investors.”
In February, the Union Home Minister of India, Rajnath Singh inaugurated the cyber forensic lab and Cyber Protection Awareness and Detection Centre, with a special unit focused on cryptocurrency.
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