Mumbai realtor loses ₹8.5L to crypto conman
A real estate agent from Matunga, Tushar Shah
(62), has lost Rs 8.5lakh to a cryptocurrency scam. Shah bought bitcoins in 2016 after coming in touch with cryptocurrency guru Amit Bhardwaj. That was a time when shrouded in mystery, cryptocurrencies, mainly bitcoin, were considered to be a hot investment avenue. Bhardwaj, an electric engineer who founded several cryptocurrency mining firms, including India’s first, and authored three well-known books on cryptocurrency, was a particularly trusted bitcoin investment agent.
“Bhardwaj lured Shah by promising high returns. He told Shah there would be a profit of 1.5 bitcoin every month on an investment of 13.75 bitcoins (almost Rs 8.5 lakh at the time; the value of bitcoins has nosedived in recent months). Shah invested in Bhardwaj’s firm, Gain Bitcoin, and was given a month’s profit. Profit payment stopped thereon,” said a police officer. When Shah made frequently attempts to get his money back, Bhardwaj told him he can be repaid in another cryptocurrency, MCap (made by Bhardwaj’s own firm). Shah soon realised that this new currency was worthless, and approached the police.
Like Shah, over 8,000 investors from Maharashtra have lost about Rs 2,000 crore in all to Bhardwaj’s cryptocurrency scheme, which experts say was a Ponzi racket. On Tuesday, the Matunga police reached Yerawada jail to take Bhardwaj’s custody on Shah’s complaint. Bhardwaj has been lodged there since his arrest in the Rs 2,000 crore scam in April. This is a major development in the case as a huge number of his victims are from Mumbai. This is the city police’s chance to probe the scam so that those who have been duped in the city can seek justice.
A real estate agent from Matunga, Tushar Shah
(62), has lost Rs 8.5lakh to a cryptocurrency scam. Shah bought bitcoins in 2016 after coming in touch with cryptocurrency guru Amit Bhardwaj. That was a time when shrouded in mystery, cryptocurrencies, mainly bitcoin, were considered to be a hot investment avenue. Bhardwaj, an electric engineer who founded several cryptocurrency mining firms, including India’s first, and authored three well-known books on cryptocurrency, was a particularly trusted bitcoin investment agent.
“Bhardwaj lured Shah by promising high returns. He told Shah there would be a profit of 1.5 bitcoin every month on an investment of 13.75 bitcoins (almost Rs 8.5 lakh at the time; the value of bitcoins has nosedived in recent months). Shah invested in Bhardwaj’s firm, Gain Bitcoin, and was given a month’s profit. Profit payment stopped thereon,” said a police officer. When Shah made frequently attempts to get his money back, Bhardwaj told him he can be repaid in another cryptocurrency, MCap (made by Bhardwaj’s own firm). Shah soon realised that this new currency was worthless, and approached the police.
Like Shah, over 8,000 investors from Maharashtra have lost about Rs 2,000 crore in all to Bhardwaj’s cryptocurrency scheme, which experts say was a Ponzi racket. On Tuesday, the Matunga police reached Yerawada jail to take Bhardwaj’s custody on Shah’s complaint. Bhardwaj has been lodged there since his arrest in the Rs 2,000 crore scam in April. This is a major development in the case as a huge number of his victims are from Mumbai. This is the city police’s chance to probe the scam so that those who have been duped in the city can seek justice.
A Cryptocurrency Fraud is almost similar to a heinous crime
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