The Himachal Pradesh Police have arrested one of the masterminds of a Rs 2,500-crore cryptocurrency scam, which was unearthed in the state in 2022, from Kolkata, officials said on Thursday.
Milan Garg (35), a resident of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, was apprehended on Wednesday night from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, while he was trying to flee to Bangkok in Thailand, they said.
Garg, who was allegedly involved in designing and marketing of a fake cryptocurrency, was later brought to Shimla, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Northern Range, Abhishek Dhullar, told PTI.
Garg, who earlier fled to Dubai after the scam came to light, had returned to India in June and was again leaving the country when he was detained at the Kolkata airport. The accused has been arrested and brought to Shimla, said Dhullar, who is heading an SIT probing the case.
The accused, the main associate of kingpin Subhash Sharma who is still at large, was involved in designing of the cryptocurrency, software development and marketing, Dhullar said, adding that he would also convince prospective investors.
The cryptocurrency scam, which has duped thousands of people, started in 2018 but came to light in 2022 as the perpetrators of the fraud had threatened the investors to keep their mouth shut or lose money.
The investors smelled something fishy when they did not get money in return, but the victims did not come out openly against the fraudsters. However, later hundreds of victims came forward and uncovered the modus operandi of scammers and so far over 300 complaints have been received.
Police have arrested 26 people in connection with the case and charge sheets have been filed against 70 people so far. Some of the main accused arrested included Hemraj, Sukhdev, both from Mandi, and Arun Guleria and Abhishekh from Una district of Himachal.
The scammers lured people by promising handsome returns in a short span of time and built a network of investors. People from different sections of society, including policemen and teachers, got involved in the scheme for quick returns.
The fraudsters approached people with an investment plan related to a locally made (in Mandi district) cryptocurrency known as ‘Korvio Coin’ or KRO coins. Three to four kinds of cryptocurrency were used and false websites in which the cryptocurrency prices were manipulated and inflated were created, police said.