A 35-year-old fugitive wanted in a ₹1,740-crore cryptocurrency scam unearthed in Himachal Pradesh last year, was arrested in Kolkata on Wednesday, two days after being detained by immigration officials at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, the police said.
Accused Milan Garg, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut in UP, was brought to Shimla later in the day and will be produced in court for police custody on Thursday. Police said that Milan Garg, an expert in creating digital content, had escaped to Dubai after the massive fraud was unearthed last October but returned in June either through Bangladesh or Nepal.
According to the police, around one lakh people in Himachal Pradesh were swindled through various websites and crypto coins, by luring them with promises of double returns. “The masterminds of the crypto racket created around 2,50,000 fake IDs for the fraudulent activity. The maximum number of victims hailed from the districts of Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur, and Una in Himachal Pradesh,” said an officer.
Police said Garg made digital coins such as DGT Coin, Fish Token, Hypnext Coin, Corvio Coin, etc., which were reportedly purchased by investors hoping high returns.
So far, at least 70 suspects involved in the cryptocurrency scam have been arrested. Investigators, however, said that the mastermind of the multi-crore scam, Subhash Sharma, is still absconding. Earlier, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) discovered that Sharma was hiding in Dubai, but later learned that he had moved to another country.
“On Monday, Garg tried to go to Dubai from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, where immigration officials apprehended him as a lookout notice had already been issued against him. He was handed over to Kolkata police, who informed us about the development. We sent an investigation team to Kolkata, and they returned with Garg,” said DIG Abhishek Dular, who is heading the SIT.
Meanwhile, investigation had revealed that Sharma had created five shell companies to adjust the money collected from investors, the police said. These companies – Soymans India Pvt Ltd, UBB Associates LLP, UBB Records LLP, Subro Technologies Pvt Ltd, and Him Jan Sewa Foundation – were registered with the Registrars of Companies (ROC) in Chandigarh, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh.
The SIT has filed four chargesheets against the suspects in the Special Court constituted for hearing matters related to the stringent Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act, 2019.
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First uploaded on: 18-07-2024 at 11:40 IST
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