The Enforcement Bureau (ED) conducted a series of search operations in Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Administration Act (FEMA). These operations are part of an investigation into large-scale cryptocurrency fraud involving the conversion of crypto assets worth about Rs. The agency, a press release here on Monday, said Rs 6 billion was made on various Indian cryptocurrency exchanges.
The investigation comes after a newspaper report highlighted the case of Chirag Tomar, who is currently in the U.S. for fraud over $20 million (about Rs 14.4 crore) ) Hundreds of victims served in the United States. Tomar’s fraudulent activity is related to fraudulent websites that mimic the legal cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. These fake sites are designed to appear at the top of search engine results through malicious search engine optimization techniques, luring users into their login credentials.
After the victim enters the details, the deceptive website displays incorrect information, prompting the user to contact the phone number listed on the website. This number led to victims entering a call center operated by Chirag Tomar and his colleagues. After accessing the victim’s cryptocurrency account, the fraudster quickly transferred their shares to the wallet they controlled. The stolen cryptocurrency is then sold on platforms such as LocalBitcoins.com and converted to Indian rupees on local crypto exchanges.
Investigators found that large gains were made, totaling rupees. 150 million was transferred to a bank account belonging to Chirag Tomar and his family. As part of the search operation, several bank accounts related to the Tomar family have been frozen, Rs. So far, Rs 2.18 crore has caught it.
During the search process, ED also discovered similar fraudulent activities involving selling suspicious cryptocurrencies on LocalBitcoins.com and then converting them to INR via Indian crypto exchanges.
(This story has not been edited by Tech Word News’s staff and is automatically generated from the joint feed.)
