Mumbai: As part of the investigation into a cryptocurrency fraud, the Navi Mumbai cyber police froze numerous bank accounts with funds totaling Rs 32.66 crore on Wednesday.
A guy who claimed to have invested more than Rs 6.6 crore in bitcoin trading filed a fraud complaint with the cyber police station in Navi Mumbai, according to senior police inspector Gajanan Kadam.
According to the man’s complaint, a lady caller befriended him before urging him to invest in Bitcoin trading with promises of high returns.
The complainant began making significant investments; he frequently received Rs. 75 lakh returns but stopped getting so.
Under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, a crime in this regard was reported to the cyber police.
According to the source, a police investigation team contacted several banks to find out where the complainant had made payments and, as a first move, obtained the freezing of accounts with balances totaling Rs 32,66,12,091 over the previous few weeks.
Based on several clues, the investigation team narrowed its focus on two people from the nearby Mumbai neighborhood of Ghatkopar in the final week of September.
Rajendra Ramkhilavan Patel and Balu Sakharam Khandagale were later detained by the police, according to the official.
The investigation revealed that the accused individuals had provided other criminals with the mobile numbers, bank account information, checkbooks, and ATM cards of several people.
Further investigation is underway.
