India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken action against two significant crypto scams in the country, deceiving investors with promises of high returns.

The ED has seized an astounding INR 90 crores (approximately $10.7 million) worth of cryptocurrencies, dealing a severe blow to the ‘E-Nugget’ scam.

Two individuals, Aamir Khan and Romen Agarwal, have been arrested and charged in connection with the case.

According to an FIR filed with the Park Street Police Station of Kolkata, the scam operated as a gaming platform, luring users with promises of high returns on their investments. However, once investments were made, the app disappeared, leaving investors unable to retrieve their funds.

An earlier investigation by the ED revealed that the scammers used 2,500 dummy bank accounts to run the scheme. A portion of the funds was also found to be invested in cryptocurrencies.

The ED froze funds totaling nearly ₹ 90 crore in 70 accounts linked to the scam on exchanges like Binance, ZebPay, and WazirX.

In total, assets worth INR 163 crore (approximately $19 million) have been seized by the ED, including cash, cryptocurrencies, bank account balances, and some offices.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in India conducted a nationwide search related to a fake cryptocurrency mining scam, registering a case against two companies in connection with the HPZ token app.

The scam involved an app posing as a cryptocurrency mining platform, promising lucrative returns to investors. Funds were collected through 150 bank accounts and then moved out of India using cryptocurrencies.

The ED had previously seized assets related to this scam worth INR 176.67 crores (approximately $21 million).

These crackdowns are part of India’s efforts to closely monitor the cryptocurrency space. The nation’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has expressed concerns about potential money laundering through cryptocurrency exchanges. Therefore, cryptocurrency service providers in India must register with FIU-India and comply with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

Indians are increasingly considering cryptocurrencies in their retirement plans, as revealed by a recent survey.

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