Thane Police busts Rs. 500 crore cryptocurrency racket; 1 arrested
Thane Police has busted an online cryptocurrency racket, which had allegedly collected an estimated Rs. 500cr from people with a promise of good returns; it has arrested one person. The accused allegedly posed as representatives of the Union Finance Ministry and had also prepared fake identity cards to cheat people. Around 25,000 people fell prey to the accused and invested money in the company.
Money Trade Coin (MTC) cryptocurrency
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.
Police raided the company based on complaint by a businessman
Based on a complaint by a New Delhi-based businessman, the police raided the company's premises on the Ghodbunder Road in Thane and in suburban Vikhroli in the adjoining Mumbai yesterday. Police seized 53 laptops, rubber stamps, and fabricated documents during the raids. Kazi, who was allegedly providing technical support to the company, was later arrested. A search is on for five other people.
RBI had earlier warned people from investing in virtual currencies
Across the world, there have been heightened concerns over cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoins as they are not regulated by any governments/central banks, leading to a fear of possible money laundering too. The RBI had earlier come out with warnings to discourage the public from investing in virtual currencies. It has also asked banks not to extend banking facilities for sale/purchase of such currencies.
