Key Takeaways:
- Nagpur Police arrested 11 people involved in the huge crypto scam.
- Over 172 investors have lost their money.
- The gang was evading the police for a long, but with the help of cyber experts, they finally got busted.
Times of India has shared details about the raid on the “Crypto racket” in Lonavla. The gang has been alleged of scamming investors out of Rs 400 million ($5.36 million), and the four identified are Nishid Wasnik, his wife Pragati, Gajanan Mungune, and Sandesh Lanjewar.
The scam was done through ‘Ether Trade Asia’. On Saturday, the Nagpur police raided and seized items like gold, luxurious vehicles worth $134,000 (Rs 10 million), a laptop, $25,000 cash, eight mobiles, and a firearm with seven live lives cartridges. In a press conference, Nagpur police chief Amitesh Kumar said that the amount unearthed can go up as the investigation goes on.
The gang has scammed almost 172 persons for Rs 3.7 crore and saved themselves from the eyes of the special crime branch team created by Kumar to assist the Economic Offences Wing (EoW). Finally, they were traced using cyber techniques by relentlessly tracking the gang’s online activities.
The Chief Police said, “The gang was staying in a duplex with friends, families, and others. Wives and children of many too were present when cops zeroed in on the gang.” The team that busted the gang included senior PI Kishor Parvate, sub-inspectors Mohekar, cyber expert Balram Zadokar and others.
The gang used to attract investors by organising events in a luxurious hotel in Pachmarhi. They were eventually manipulated to purchase Ethers from the ZebPay website and then transfer them to the scammer’s website using a trusted wallet.
The CP added, “On the website, the gang projected a notional benefit to each investor but siphoned off their Ethers to benefit Wasnik and his asides.” “Wasnik and his gang seemed to have transferred a huge number of Ethers to some other site or monetised them to support his lavish lifestyle.”
