19 family members face charges in India over $119,000 crypto fraud

In Thane district of Maharashtra, India, 19 family members have been accused of defrauding two brothers of more than one crore rupees through a cryptocurrency scam.

The victims were promised high returns on their investments and invested a total of $119,000. The defendants claimed they were able to multiply the money 12-fold, with the siblings investing $109,000 and $30.6k, respectively, as of March 2022, according to The Economic Times.

When the refunds were never realized and the defendants refrained from returning the money, the victims became suspicious. Among the siblings, a 42-year-old man reported the case at Rabodi police station after the accused threatened him that they had links with some big personalities.

The suspects named by police include Sabir Yakub Ghachi (50), Shakir Yakub Ghachi (45) and Ruhiha Shakir Ghachi (39). The case was registered under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999. No arrest has been made in the case so far.

Cryptocurrency is a form of currency that uses cryptography to secure transactions and is implemented on decentralized systems; Bitcoin is one of the most famous examples. However, such scams make it clear that investing in such unregulated schemes is very dangerous.

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