Indian police arrest suspects in $5.34 million Ethereum fraud

Indian police have arrested suspects in cryptocurrency fraud totaling 400 million rupees (~$5.34 million), according to the Times of India.

During the raid, law enforcement arrested four people in the town of Lonavala, seizing about 600 g of gold, vehicles worth more than $134,000, firearms and other items.

A day later in Nagpur, police arrested seven more suspects linked to the fraud scheme.

According to investigators, the perpetrators urged potential investors to buy Ethereum on the ZebPay platform, then send the cryptocurrency to their own site Ether Trade Asia. By manipulating figures, they showed investors a fictitious return on the project, while diverting the raised funds for themselves.

Police identified over 170 investors who lost more than $500,000. But the project’s website and on-chain data led to further “suspicious transactions” in digital currencies totaling 400 million rupees.

The scheme’s participants are also suspected of killing one of their accomplices for refusing to reveal the “passwords to important transactions”.

The group has been at large since March 2021. Police cyber experts traced its members’ whereabouts by monitoring online activity of both the suspects and their family members.

Earlier in December, Indian police warned citizens about the rise in cryptocurrency fraud. Most cases involved investments and trading assets.