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Indian authorities arrested 11 individuals over the weekend, connected with a crypto scam case that allegedly used the allure of high gains to dupe 2,000 investors out of US$5.4 million (INR 400 million), local media reported.
Fast facts
- Four of the accused were apprehended on Saturday after being on the run since March last year, while seven others were caught on Sunday.
- Nishid Wasnik, who is accused of leading the operation, manipulated his firm’s website to display a steady increase in investments to lure victims, then siphoning funds to his accounts between 2017 and 2021.
- Police seized a pistol along with seven live cartridges, four luxury cars worth around US$134,000, eight mobile phones, a laptop and over US$25,000 in cash.
- Wasnik and two others from Saturday’s arrest are also accused of kidnapping and gunning down a person.
- Crypto scams are on the rise in India in terms of both scale and numbers as authorities apprehended suspects in a massive US$162 million scam last month.