Crypto fraud: ED seizes Rs 1-cr cash after raids in Leh, other places

NEW DELHI: An amount of Rs 1 crore and "incriminating" documents were seized following raids against operators of a "fake" cryptocurrency investment company that cheated people in Ladakh and some other places, the Enforcement Directorate said Sunday. The searches were undertaken on August 2 in Leh, Jammu and Sonipat in Haryana under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Officials had said this was the first time that the federal anti-money laundering agency carried out searches in Ladakh.

The probe pertains to cheating of innocent people, including people of Leh, by assuring them of doubling their investment in a short period of 10 months through investment in fake cryptocurrency named Emollient Coin, the agency said in a statement.

This "fake" cryptocurrency, as per the ED, was represented and promoted by Naresh Gulia of Sonipat through a company named Emollient Coin Limited that was incorporated in September, 2017 in the United Kingdom.

The business was promoted at Leh by Ajay Kumar Chaudhary and Charanjeet Singh alias Chunni of Jammu and Attiul Rehman Mir of Leh and investors were assured that their investment will be doubled in 10 months and they will get a fixed percentage commission through the marketing of the fake crypto currency, it alleged.

The money laundering investigation stems from a March 2020 FIR filed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

The money collected from this alleged fraud business was laundered and utilised for personal use and for the purchase of various immovable properties and assets by the accused, the ED said.

An amount of Rs 1 crore in cash was seized apart from several incriminating documents, property documents and digital devices during the searches, it said.

It did not specify from which location or premise the cash and documents were seized.