The CID (Criminal Investigation Department) of India has arrested four individuals in Surat; Dhiraj Patel, Vijay Prajapati, Ashiq Shaikh and Kamruddin Syed in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency ponzi scheme.
The KBC Promise
These four individuals are the alleged creators of the cryptocurrency KBC Coin, which was reportedly launched six months ago, and alleged backed by gold. The asset was reported issued at 10 paisas each(about $0.0015) , with a promise that the value will surge by 100% (that is about 10 rupees, appx. $0.15) in “no time” .
However, as explained by the Director General of police in the CID, Ashiah Bhatia, six months have passed since the launch of the KBC Coin and the value of the cryptocurrency has not increased and the KBC promoters nowhere to be found
The KBC Pyramid Scheme
As stated by a member of the CID, a promoter of the KBC Coin, named Baljeetsingh Lashkariya through a pyramid scheme, stating that the “first investor in the chain would get an incentive from the last circle of investors. This offer played a major role in bringing more investors to the company.”
Baljeetsingh Lashkariya as well as another KBC Coin promoter, Mohan Patel, have reportedly “gone underground.”
Reports state that at least $14.2 million dollars have been allegedly stolen through this cryptocurrency scam.
It is still unclear if this was their plan from the onset or the realization that their promises were impossible to meet forces them to cut and run.
Exact Stolen Amount Still Uncertain
Notably, the 14.2 million dollars could simply be a fraction of the exact amount stolen, due to the fact that that figure ($14.2 million) was reported by a single person, Rajesh Maniya, who stated he, his friends and family had invested that amount in the KBC Coin.
A Dent In The Image Of Indian Crypto Community
This cryptocurrency scam is the sixth reported crypto fraud case in the Surat region of India in the last two years, which will definitely put a dent in the nascent cryptocurrency community in India, causing low acceptance and adoption crypto.
