The Thane Police has ceased an online cryptocurrency racket, which had allegedly collected an estimated Rs 500 crore from people with a promise of good returns, and has detained one person, an official said on Tuesday.
Some people had floated a company about a year back and launched their own cryptocurrency called the ‘Money Trade Coin (MTC)’, through which they promised high returns and lured people to invest about Rs 500 crore into its schemes, the police official said.
However, the company allegedly failed to pay the promised sum to the investors.
The police raided the company’s premises on the Ghodbunder Road in Thane yesterday and subsequently nabbed a person, based on a complaint by a New Delhi-based businessman, and also identified as Taha Kazi, from Mumbra town.
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The man arrested who gave technical support to the company, the official said. The police are attempting to ensure the exact modus operandi of the company’s owners and how they used to run the racket.
A search is on for five others for their alleged involvement in the racket, the police said.
The case has been registered under various IPC sections for cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, the Chit Funds Act and the Information Technology Act.
Across the world, there have been heightened concerns over cryptocurrencies, also known as ‘virtual currencies’, such as Bitcoins as they are not regulated by any governments/central banks, leading to a fear of possible money laundering too. The RBI has also asked banks not to extend banking facilities for sale or purchase of such currencies.
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