New Delhi:
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday summoned Gaurav Mehta, an employee of an audit company, in connection with the case registered on the directions of the Supreme Court in the over Rs 6,000 crore Gain Bitcoin Ponzi ‘scam’. Officials said that the CBI has directed Mehta to appear before the investigating officer of the case as soon as possible.
The apex court had handed over the case to CBI in December last year. The central agency has taken over the investigation of cases registered by the police of various states in connection with the Gain Bitcoin Ponzi scheme. Maharashtra and Delhi Police had registered several cases against Variable Tech Pte Ltd, late Amit Bhardwaj and Ajay Bhardwaj and others for allegedly running ‘multi-level-marketing’ (MLM) schemes through which they defrauded investors in 2017. Collected about Rs 6,600 crore in the form of Bitcoin from and offered 10 percent return in cryptocurrency (virtual currency).
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is not controlled by the central bank of any country. CBI has issued the notice after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid on Mehta’s premises. The ED said it has expanded the scope of its investigation in the Gain Bitcoin Ponzi scam case and is probing the “links” of Mehta and some others with politicians, bureaucrats and high-ranking officials.
Mehta was also named by former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ravindranath Patil, who was arrested in the 2018 cryptocurrency “fraud” case, which was being investigated by the Pune Police. In his complaint sent to the Election Commission through email, Patil, quoting the alleged chats in his possession, had said that it appears that hundreds of bitcoins worth billions of rupees were used in the last Lok Sabha elections and assembly elections. He had said that it also appears that Mehta has misused bitcoins worth billions of rupees.
