The Indian Enforcement Directorate confiscated assets worth $5 million in relation with a $162 million cryptocurrency fraud employing Morris coin.
In connection with a cryptocurrency fraud, India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), a specialized financial investigative agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, has confiscated assets worth 36.72 crore rupees ($5 million).
Authorities in India seize assets in a suspected cryptocurrency scam
The ED began looking into the program after the Kerala Police filed a first information report (FIR) under the Indian Penal Code. Following that, police in other areas filed a number of other FIRs.
Morris coin, a nonexistent cryptocurrency, is used in the plan. Nishad and his enterprises raised money from investors through an initial coin offering (ICO) for the coin. To recruit investors, the ED said that they staged “promotional events in the presence of celebrities” and utilized “flashy websites.” Over 900 investors were allegedly scammed out of Rs. 1,200 crore, according to the authorities.
The funds raised from investors were used to buy real estate, cryptocurrency, and luxury automobiles, as well as pay for high-end hotels and resorts, according to the ED.
Nishad K. and his colleagues are the owners of the confiscated assets. Money in various bank accounts, properties, and cryptocurrency obtained with proceeds of crime are among them.
The ED went on to say:
Cryptocurrencies such as ETH, BTC, BNB, YFI, VET, ADA, and USDT, valued at ₹25,82,794, and maintained at Indian and international crypto exchanges, were found. They were purchased out of the proceeds of crime.
“During investigation, all the above cryptocurrencies … were converted into Indian rupee and transferred to the bank account by the coins’ owner, which were attached,” the ED statement notes.
