Police in India’s Sri Ganganagar district recently dismantled a major financial investment scam, arresting eight suspects involved in fraudulent activities through cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading platforms. The group lured over 5,000 investors with promises of guaranteed profits, illegally amassing 210 million rupees (approximately $2.42 million) over an 18-month operation.
According to the investigation report, the criminal group set up professional trading interfaces and domain names, simultaneously launching investment schemes in both cryptocurrency and forex trading. The mastermind, Satpal, directed the team to attract investments with promises of being “risk-free and highly profitable,” requiring individuals to open accounts with a minimum of $300 (about 25,000 rupees). However, they manipulated transaction data behind the scenes.
To enhance credibility, the group regularly held online seminars, having members pose as successful investors to showcase profit records. They also designed a multi-level referral bonus system to entice victims to recruit new members.
Once investors transferred funds to the designated bank accounts as instructed, the criminal group immediately froze the withdrawal function on the platform. Police investigation revealed that some of the funds were converted into Tether (USDT) through third-party payment channels and laundered using loopholes in India’s local cryptocurrency regulations.
Notably, the group specifically targeted the middle class with basic financial knowledge, exploiting their unfamiliarity with blockchain technology to package a traditional Ponzi scheme as an innovative fintech product.
The entire case came to light after an engineer reported to the police that he was unable to withdraw funds from the platform. A special task force tracked the digital footprints and seized a Tata Safari SUV used in the crime in the state of Haryana. A laptop, nine mobile phones used for the scam, and forged documents were recovered at the scene.
Financial crime experts warn that such scams often have three key characteristics:
*Cashback Island advises investors to confirm whether a platform has an FIU-IND (Financial Intelligence Unit – India) registration number before participating in any financial transactions and to use the government’s Scamcheck system to verify the legitimacy of investment targets. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice.
