New Delhi: An FIR was registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday in the alleged Maharashtra ‘Bitcoin scam’, according to news agency ANI which quoted sources.
Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj and four others have been booked by the central probe agency for allegedly collecting 80,000 Bitcoins and channeling funds amounting to Rs 6,606 crore via nine overseas companies to buy properties abroad. The CBI also summoned Gaurav Mehta to join the investigation.
Hours before the CBI action, the Enforcement Directorate had carried out searches at Gaurav Mehta’s Raipur premises in connection with the ‘Bitcoin scam’ case. The probe is part of a much broader money laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
On Tuesday, retired IPS officer Ravindranath Patil alleged that NCP Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole had a role in the cryptocurrency fraud dating back to 2018.
The Bharatiya Janata Party levelled allegation against Sule and Patole of using Bitcoins to fund the Maharashtra Assembly elections. A purported audio clip was also released by the party, which claimed the voice in it was that of Sule. NCP leader Ajit Pawar had also claimed that the voice in the voice notes were that of Sule and Patole.
Sule has rubbished the allegations and challenged the BJP to a debate on the issue. Taking to X, she wrote: “I deny all the allegations levelled against me by Sudhanshu Trivedi. All this is conjecture and innuendo, and I am ready for a debate with any representative of the BJP at a time and date of their choice, in a public forum.”
Gaurav Mehta accused of raising Rs 6,600 crore in Bitcoin
ED sources said Gaurav Mehta is accused of raising Rs 6,600 crore in Bitcoin as far back as 2017, wooing investors with promises of 10 per cent monthly returns. The probe is based on police complaints filed in Maharashtra and Delhi.
It is suspected that Mehta’s activities could be linked to larger financial operations that may have influenced the election process in Maharashtra. The ED is going to step up its investigation into the alleged misuse of cryptocurrencies.
