Indian police have reportedly arrested an associate of a group that’s accused of conducting a crypto scam involving 5 billion rupees which is equivalent to $71.6 million. This is according to an Indian English-language local publication known as the Indian Express.
This is the fourth arrest made as investigations continue a year after the fact. The latest arrest involves Rohit Kumar. Rohit was apprehended by Delhi police after a complaint was filed by a resident of Kanpur.
According to the police, the alleged scam was the brainchild of a man known as Amit Lakhanpal. Amit, who is the CEO of a real estate firm in the country, came up with a token dubbed Money trade coin (MTC), which was never listed on any crypto exchange.
An anonymous police source alleged that Amit had set up an office in Delhi’s Vikram Nagar, which served as a collection point for token funds from investors who had been promised high returns.
The police further revealed that the token’s price got pumped as a way of attracting investors and as soon as the price dropped, investors were unable to short their positions. This led to a report being made, dated 31st December, revealing that Amit was being accused of cheating, criminal conspiracy and banning.
Further police reports reveal that Amit had previously organized events in Dubai that were attended by members of the royal family. An anonymous police officer also reportedly claimed that Amit had in the past also shown prospective clients an article in an international magazine that claimed that one of the royals was his partner.
One can only guess that cases like these are triggering Indian authorities to warn people off crypto-currencies
