Delhi: Man held for duping in name of cryptocurrency

A 32-year-old man was arrested for allegedly duping people in the name of cryptocurrency or virtual money, police said Tuesday. The accused has been identified as Rohit Kumar, a resident of Burari, they said. The police received a complaint of cheating, money laundering and violation of Information Technology Act against Rohit Kumar, Amit Lakhanpal, Rajinder Kumar Shah and others. "In the complaint, the victims alleged that Kumar and his associates, through social media and personal invitation, urged hundreds of Indians and NRIs to invest their money in Money Trade Coin (MTC) of Flinstone Technologies Pvt Ltd," A K Singla, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), said.

The accused used to tell the victims that the (virtual)currency was Dubai-based and promised them higher returns, police said. They also used to organise conferences and other lavish events at 5-star hotels to lure the unsuspecting victims, they said. Kumar was nabbed from his residence on December 31, 2018. Other members of the gang, namely Sachin Shailer, Vikram Manghera and Tah Quazi were arrested by the Maharashtra Police, while Lakhanpal is absconding, police said.

According to RBI guidelines, "The creation, trading or usage of virtual currencies, including Bitcoin, as a medium for payment is not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority. No regularity approvals, registration or authorisation is stated to have been obtained by the entities concerned for carrying such activities".

(With inputs from agencies.)