Cryptocurrency scam: Man booked for duping Pune lawyer of 220 bitcoins worth ₹42 crore

Pune police on Tuesday booked Satish Kumbhani, founder and owner of BitConnect, an investment platform, for allegedly duping Pune-based lawyer in a multi-core scam.

According to police, A lawyer based in Kondhwa Budruk has lodged complaint at cybercrime police station on Tuesday.

In 2016, the lawyer has invested ₹49 lakh in 54 bitcoins and the accused assured him returns of 166 bitcoins. However, he was allegedly made to reinvest into various Ponzi schemes, according to police officials

In FIR the complainant stated that the accused and his six allies duped him for 220 bitcoins of worth ₹42 crore.

Senior police inspector DS Hake said that Kumbhani and his allies were running virtual currency scheme through which they allegedly mislead investors.

In another case, Nigdi police have booked an unknown person for duping a resident of ₹13.67 lakh.

As per complaint filed by the Rakesh Ishwar Lohar, a resident of Yamunanagar Nigdi, the accused lured him to invest in bitcoins. The complainant was told to invest in Bitcoin for high returns.

As per suggestion given by the accused, on April 8, Lohar downloaded Bycoin app opn his mobile and paid ₹13.67 lakh to the accused. However, Lohar has not received any returns and hence he lodged complaint on August 15 at Nigdi police station.

In both cases police has registered case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and further investigation is going on.