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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized cryptocurrency amounting to Rs 17.20 crore across multiple wallets during searches conducted at six locations in Haryana on Thursday, the agency said.
ED's Chandigarh zonal office seized the amount during these raids conducted on February 24 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in the Cryptocurrency scam case registered recently. The cryptocurrency, amounting to Rs 17.20 crore across multiple wallets, was owned and managed by one Mahesh Kumar and his associates, said the ED. "The search operations also resulted in the seizure of several mobile phones, which were found to have been used to access cryptocurrency wallets through multiple Apps installed on such mobile devices," said the federal agency. "The same have been sent for forensic examination and expected to yield more incriminating material." As per ED, this cryptocurrency racket was being operated from a mundane and remote location in Haryana to dodge Law Enforcement Agencies. ED initiated the investigation based on a First Information Report registered by the Haryana Police clubbed with a complaint received from a victim of the said illegal cryptocurrency investment scam. Mahesh Kumar from Hissar, along with three accomplices, all from Bhiwani, Haryana, are involved in the racket. "All these in connivance with one another have lured several investors for investment into cryptocurrency promising exorbitant returns and duped them crores of rupees," it stated. ED's investigation revealed that multiple cryptocurrency wallets were operated by mastermind Mahesh Kumar in active association with other co-accomplices. Mahesh Kumar and his associates have orchestrated the scam with ill motive of generating the funds by cheating individuals by promising them high returns for cryptocurrency investment and thus, have generated Proceeds of Crime (POC), it said, adding "by adopting the said modus-operandi, Mahesh and his team not only generated POC but also layered it by investing into cryptocurrency wallets through decentralised exchanges." The agency said this discovery highlights the fast-expanding reach of cryptocurrency activities, posing new challenges for regulators and law enforcement agencies. (ANI)
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