Dehradun, Aug 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) The ED issued orders to attach assets worth Rs 8.54 crore belonging to the owner of a bitcoin investment company that duped customers of nearly Rs 200 crore since 2014, an official said on Monday.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Dehradun Sub Zonal Office, issued a Provisional Attachment Order dated July 31 under the PMLA, 2002, attaching assets belonging to Hemant Ishwar Sharma.
He allegedly cheated gullible public by luring them into investing bitcoins in his Iceland-registered website BTCFUND.IS.
The ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by Police Station Rajpur, Dehradun, under IPC, 1860 against Sharma for cheating investors through the website BTCFUND.IS, said an official statement.
A similar FIR was also registered by Police Station Dineshpur, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, under various provisions of the IPC, 1860, against Sharma and others, in relation to the same fraudulent scheme, the ED said.
Investigation revealed that Sharma, who is currently in judicial custody, fraudulently collected substantial sums of money from members of the public under the pretext of investing in Bitcoin through the website BTCFUND.IS, which was under his control, the ED said.
He lured investors by promising high returns and falsely claimed that several foreign nationals were associated with the company, thereby projecting the scheme as credible and internationally backed. Investors from across India were induced to deposit funds on the platform on these false representations, it said.
He ran the fraudulent scheme for about 5 years (2014-18), and once he was able to win the trust of the public and substantial Bitcoins were collected through the website, he abruptly took down the website, rendering the investors helpless, betrayed and cheated, the ED said.
Blockchain analysis identified retained Proceeds of Crime of approximately 856.23 BTC (Rs 200 crore) which were laundered through crypto exchanges to buy real estate, vehicles, and renovate his residence, the ED said.
Investigation revealed that Sharma did not have any other source of income other than funds from BTCFUND.IS, which he utilised for a luxurious lifestyle, the ED said.
Despite no formal income of his own, he managed to purchase and maintain two luxury cars, a Bungalow at a posh location in Dehradun and multiple immovable properties worth crores of rupees at Dehradun and adjoining areas, the ED said.
Earlier, the ED had issued a Provisional Attachment Order attaching movable and immovable properties of Sharma to the tune of Rs 4.56 crore.
Sharma was arrested by the ED and is currently lodged in Siddhowala Prison, Dehradun. The ED filed a chargesheet against him on May 20 before the Special Court (PMLA), Dehradun, which took cognisance of it on July 13, said the statement.
Source: IANS
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