Cryptocurrency Scam: Economic Offences Wing exposes Rs 1,000 crore fraud spanning across India

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

EOW) of the State Crime Branch has brought to light an extensive cryptocurrency scam spanning across India, implicating more than 2 lakh individuals and involving deposits exceeding Rs 1,000 crore. The scam, masterminded by a company named STA Token (Solar Techno Alliance), unfolded as a pyramid-structured Ponzi scheme that cunningly eluded detection from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Despite the absence of formal complaints from the affected investors, the EOW undertook a thorough investigation, unmasking STA Token's illicit operations.

The company surreptitiously engaged in unlawful multi-level marketing and money circulation under the guise of cryptocurrency investments, circumventing the mandatory authorization from the RBI. EOW's Inspector General, J N Pankaj, disclosed, «Our investigation revealed that STA Token had been orchestrating an intricate network of financial deceit. The company unlawfully attracted deposits without the requisite approval from the RBI.» The focus of the EOW's scrutiny, STA Token's country chief, Gurtej Singh Sidhu, and Odisha head, Nirod Das, were apprehended and taken into custody.

Sidhu, a resident of Faridkot in Punjab, was arrested in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, while Das was captured in Bhadrak. Sidhu appeared before a court in Sri Ganganagar, which granted a seven-day transit remand. The fraudulent company reportedly amassed Rs 30 crore from approximately 10,000 individuals in areas including Bhadrak, Keonjhar, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, and Bhubaneswar.