The Indian police arrested a person that was accused of being involved in a cryptocurrency scam that involved around $71.6 million, according to Indian Express. This marks arrest number four in a case that is ongoing and is connected to the Thane police’s alleged scam discovered in Mumbai. The arrested suspect was identified as Rohit Kumar and the arrest was caused by a Kanpur resident’s complaint.
The police declared that Amit Lakhanpal was the man that launched the scam. He was identified as being a real estate firm CEO. It was also said that the scam involved a new token, MTC (Money Trade Coin), which was never actually listed on an exchanged.
A police source that was not specified said:
the accused had set up office in Delhi’s Vikram Nagar and used [it] to collect money from investors promising high returns.
It seems that the token’s price was inflated in order to prop more serious investments. As the token price fell, investors were not able to sell them. This led to police complains, with the first one appearing on December 31st, stating that the token issuers were involved in criminal conspiracy and cheating.
Police statements say that Lankhanpal managed to conduct Dubai events with royal family members attending. A police officer said that:
the accused also showed prospective clients an article in an international magazine, which claimed that one of the royals was his partner.
Public statement warnings were released by police in Kashmir and Jammu, warning that the public should not invest in cryptos. Following that, in December, an Indian government committee stated that cryptocurrencies have to be legalized.
