Bitcoin Scam: ED Attaches INR 10.63 Cr Dubai Assets

The Enforcement Directorate has reportedly attached assets worth more than INR 10 Cr, as part of a money laundering probe in connection with the ‘illegal’ Bitcoin investments fraud case.

A provisional attachment order was issued on February 17 (Monday) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for properties worth INR 10.63 Cr, including commercial properties situated in prime business centres of Dubai, UAE, PTI reported, citing the ED’s statement.

The assets were owned by late Amit Bhardwaj, the key accused of one of the world’s biggest crypto Ponzi schemes.

This comes about a year after ED attached immovable and movable properties worth INR 97.79 Cr belonging to bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband, Raj Kundra, in connection with the Bitcoin Ponzi scam.

Back then, Simpy Bhardwaj, Nitin Gaur and Nikhil Mahajan were taken into judicial custody.

“The main accused — Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj — are still absconding. The ED has sought assistance from foreign countries since the money sourced out of the proceeds of crime has travelled abroad,” the federal probe agency was quoted as saying in the report.

The scam gained attention following multiple complaints filed against a company called Variable Tech Pte Ltd, along with its promoters, including Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj and Mahender Bhardwaj, having allegedly collected INR 6,600 Cr in 2017 from their investors. 

To note, the ED also seized assets worth INR 1,646 Cr ($189.5 Mn) as part of an investigation led by the US authorities into a global $2.4 Bn “Ponzi” cryptocurrency scandal, and traced Satish Kumbhani, the mastermind behind the scandal and founder of Bitconnect, to Ahmedabad, a few days ago.

The Bitcoin Ponzi Scam

The case dates back to 2017, where Amit Bhardwaj went missing by the end of 2017 after an alleged scam of then $300 Mn. Bhardwaj was initially arrested from Bangkok airport in March, 2018 and brought to Pune by Pune Police.

As per Pune Police’s chargesheet, Amit and Vivek Bhardwaj set up Variable Tech in Singapore in 2014, which launched a crypto exchange called BitEx offering Bitcoin mining contracts.

Under these contracts, people were promised a 10% monthly return on every investment for 18 months, and the payout would be done in Bitcoin. At its peak, the company led 8,000 investors to lose their money in the scam.

Amit Bhardwaj, died of cardiac arrest on January 15, 2022, and Inc42 was the first to break the news.