Crypto scam: How were investors duped to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore?

moneycontrol.com:

The accused, 31-year-old Kerala resident Nishad K, and his partners allegedly collected deposits from investors under the guise of an initial coin offer (ICO) for the launch of Morris Coin cryptocurrency.

An ICO is the crypto industry's equivalent of an initial public offering (IPO). A company seeking to raise money to create a new coin, app, or service can launch an ICO as a way to raise funds. Interested investors can buy into an ICO to receive new cryptocurrency tokens issued by the company.

People were lured to invest in the seemingly attractive schemes through WhatsApp messages, where they were offered Rs 270 every day for 300 days and 15 Morris Coin cryptocurrency worth Rs 1,500 each on investing Rs 15,000 through agents in the crypto wallets provided by the promoters.

The agents were reportedly given 10-30 percent commission for getting people to invest in Morris Coin.

Nishad looks to have executed the plan meticulously, conducting several promotional events in the presence of celebrities, introducing investors to flashy websites and appearing in YouTube videos urging people to invest as much as possible.

Nishad told investors that the cryptocurrency was to be listed on Coimbatore-based Franc Exchange, after which the value of the tokens would increase manifold. However, the coins were never listed.

While the accused did not have an office of his own, nor share his personal contact details with anybody, he managed to collect huge sums from unsuspecting investors which he transferred to his bank account and that of his firms and subsequently to shell companies.

Working like a multi-level marketing scheme, those who enlisted others received lucrative commissions and the network flourished rapidly. However, when investors