In Thane district of Maharashtra, India, 19 members of a family have been accused of allegedly cheating two brothers of more than one crore rupees (over $119k) through a cryptocurrency racket.
The victims were promised high returns on their investments, and they invested a total of $119K+. The accused claimed they could multiply the money 12 times, and the siblings invested $109K and $30.6K from March 2022, according to The Economic Times.
When the returns were never realized and the accused absconded from repaying the money, the victims became wary. Among the siblings, a 42-year-old man reported the case at Rabodi police station after the accused threatened him saying that they had links with some big personalities.
Some of the suspects that have been named by the police include Sabir Yakub Ghachi (50), Shakir Yakub Ghachi (45), and Ruhiha Shakir Ghachi (39). The case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999. Till now, there has been no arrest made in the case.
Cryptocurrency is a form of currency that uses cryptography to secure transactions in a decentralized manner and Bitcoin is one of the most famous examples. However, such scams make it clear that investing in such unregulated schemes without any research is very dangerous.