The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched a significant crackdown on cryptocurrency-related fraud, conducting search operations across Delhi, Jaipur, and Mumbai below the International Trade Administration Act (FEMA). The raids, geared toward uncovering a large-scale rip-off involving illicit crypto conversions price roughly ₹600 crore, have been a part of an ongoing investigation, the company confirmed in a press launch on Monday.
The probe was triggered by a newspaper report detailing the fraudulent actions of Chirag Tomar, an Indian nationwide at the moment serving a jail sentence within the US for defrauding over $20 million (approx. ₹144 crore). Tomar’s rip-off concerned spoofed web sites impersonating the respectable cryptocurrency alternate, Coinbase.
In response to investigators, these fraudulent websites have been manipulated to seem on the high of search engine outcomes by way of malicious web optimization strategies, deceiving customers into sharing their login credentials. As soon as victims entered their particulars, they have been proven incorrect account info and urged to name a pretend buyer assist quantity—which related them on to a fraudulent name centre run by Tomar and his associates.
As soon as the fraudsters gained entry to victims’ cryptocurrency accounts, they swiftly transferred the belongings to wallets below their management. The stolen funds have been then bought on localbitcoins.com and transformed into Indian Rupees by way of native crypto exchanges.
The ED’s investigation revealed {that a} vital chunk of those unlawful proceeds—₹15 crore—was transferred to financial institution accounts belonging to Chirag Tomar and his relations. Authorities have since frozen multiple financial institution accounts linked to the Tomar household, with ₹2.18 crore seized thus far.
Throughout its search operations, the ED additionally found different cases of cryptocurrency fraud involving questionable crypto gross sales on localbitcoins.com, adopted by conversion into INR by way of Indian crypto platforms. This implies a broader community of cybercriminals exploiting digital currencies for illicit monetary actions.
The ED continues to analyze the case, with extra seizures and authorized actions anticipated within the coming days.
