Two people are arrested by Bhubaneshwar EOW for a Rs 15 crore cryptocurrency fraud, including an ex-Rajasthan officer

Two people, including a former Rajasthani policeman, were detained by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch on suspicion of defrauding investors out of more than `15 crore in a cryptocurrency scheme.

The culprits were named by the police as Sudhir Patel of Sundargarh and Ved Prakash of Rajasthan. According to preliminary findings, the pair defrauded around five hundred investors from the districts of Puri, Khurda, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, and Bargarh.

A Plus II dropout, Prakash was a policeman with the Rajasthan police till his employment was terminated due to allegations of misbehavior and neglect of duty. It is believed that he got in touch with Patel via some Kolkata-based scammers.

According to the police, the pair used websites such as ENG Crypto, Entice Capital, USDT Club, ADS exchange, and others to entice individuals to invest in cryptocurrencies by promising to provide them large returns on little initial deposits.

Prakash and Patel organized meetings and engaged in widespread promotional operations around the state, promising investors a quick twofold return on their investment. In order to get further rewards, they were also required to set up new depositors. According to EOW IG Jai Narayan Pankaj, the accused enticed the investors with phony plans and brochures. “At first, the investors got meager profits, but after amassing millions of rupees, the two shut down their businesses. He said, “They were mostly going for those who had less experience with computers and whose money was never invested in cryptocurrencies.

In December of last year, the EOW had filed a lawsuit in this regard, but the defendants were evading capture.