ED Conducts First-Ever Raids in Ladakh Amid Rs 7 Crore Cryptocurrency Scam

ED Conducts First-Ever Raids in Ladakh Amid Rs 7 Crore Cryptocurrency Scam

Ashiq Butt | August 2, 2024 | 08:06 PM IST | Breaking News, Ladakh | Follow on Google News

ED Conducts First-Ever Raids in Ladakh Amid Rs 7 Crore Cryptocurrency Scam

ED Conducts First-Ever Raids in Ladakh Amid Rs 7 Crore Cryptocurrency Scam

Key Highlights:

• Enforcement Directorate raids Ladakh and Jammu in cryptocurrency fraud case.
• 2,508 investors lost over Rs 7 crore in a fake cryptocurrency scheme.
• Promoters laundered funds to buy land assets in Jammu.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out its first-ever raids in Ladakh, searching multiple locations on Friday in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to a cryptocurrency fraud case.

The scheme, which allegedly defrauded over 2,500 investors of more than Rs 7 crore, was operated by A R Mir and associates under the guise of a company called “Emollient Coin Limited.”

Raids were conducted at six locations, including premises in Leh, Jammu, and Sonipat, Haryana. The fraudulent business reportedly lured investors into depositing over Rs 7.34 crore with promises of substantial returns through cryptocurrency investments.

However, the promised returns never materialized, and the funds were allegedly used by the promoters to purchase land assets in Jammu.

The money laundering case originates from a March 2020 FIR filed in Leh, as well as additional complaints in Jammu and Kashmir (J-K).

The local police inquiry, conducted by a committee set up by the district magistrate, revealed that Mir and his agents had been running a fake cryptocurrency operation from an office in Leh’s Anjuman Moin-Ul complex.

The office was sealed following allegations that the business had deceived numerous individuals by guaranteeing to double their investments.

The scheme also involved enticing investors from Ladakh and other regions to buy “Emollient Coin” or “Bitcoins” with promises of up to 40% returns after a 10-month lock-in period.

Additionally, investors were encouraged to recruit others into the scheme, forming a multi-level marketing structure.

The ED found that after dissolving Emollient Coin in March 2019, Mir and his associate Ajay Kumar Choudhary shifted their focus to real estate, purchasing lands in Jammu with the laundered funds.

Ashiq Butt

Ashiq Butt – is VoM News's senior staffer worked since year 2015 and he deals with correspondency and social media handles. Hailing from Doda's Marmat, Ashiq has strong grip over the collection of the data and it's compiling feature.