Amit Bhardwaj Bitcoin scam: ED attaches Rs 42 Cr worth properties in India and Dubai

Directorate of Enforcement has attached immovable properties and bank balances worth Rs 42.88 crores owned by Amit Bhardwaj and his accomplices.

Bhardwaj along with several others had allegedly cheated thousand of investors through a Singapore registered Bitcoin trading scheme running under the banner of Variabletech Pvt. Ltd.

The agency has issued a provisional order for attachment of properties based in India and Dubai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), revealed an ED tweet.

Bhardwaj, who is currently under judicial custody for Rs 2000 crore bitcoin scam had started Variabletech in 2015 through his now seized firm Gainbitcoin.com.

Like his previous modus operandi, Bhardwaj and his marketing agents including Hemant Bhope and Pankaj Adlakha lured many customers to invest in the company for mind-boggling return and eventually they had managed to collect about 80,000 bitcoins.

Also Read: Darwin Labs’ founders arrested for links with Amit Bhardwaj in $300 Mn Bitcoin scam

However, instead of paying the promised return, Bhardwaj offered them returns in his own newly launched cryptocurrency token MCAP which had nearly no value on crypto exchanges. Besides, he also ran firms like GBMiners and GB21 to dupe customers.

Bhardwaj, who was arrested by Pune police in Bangkok, was brought to Chandigarh last month on production warrants. The Chandigarh Court had also rejected his bail plea.

Bhardwaj has been framed under Sections 420, 406 and 120-B of the IPC and Section 66 of the IT Act.