Bitcoin mining: Man dupes businessmen of 7cr

The Delhi police has initiated a probe against a conman for duping two businessmen of 4.4 crore and 3 crore respectively on the pretext of selling them Bitcoin mining set- ups. The businessmen were promised 150 per cent returns in lieu of their investment. The accused was arrested from Pune.

The accused has been identified as, Amit Bhardwaj, a resident of Shalimar Bagh, was arrested by Pune police from Indira Gandhi International Airport in April.

He had allegedly duped more than 8,000 people in this way. It is also alleged that the total amount he had garnered from this racket is over hundreds of crores of rupees.

Bhardwaj's name, earlier came up during investigation conducted by the Cyber Cell when they had busted a cryptocurrency gang run by two men, Kamal Singh and Vijay Kumar, who had duped around 2,500 people.

According to the police, in a fresh complaint, a victim, who has an export firm on Barakhamba Road, said that Bhardwaj introduced himself as a trader who dealt in gold, diamonds and Bitcoin with expertise in getting good returns on investments. The victim introduced his father and brother to him.

"To win my confidence, Bhardwaj introduced me to one Rajesh, whom he claimed had collaborated with him to acquire a gold mine in Guinea, Latin America. He also showed some papers in this regard. After a few meetings, he offered to transfer the shares held by the duo in the mine," the victim alleged.

The accused also produced a forged share purchase agreement. When the businessman showed interest, the accused gave him a "better" offer. Claiming also to be experts in Bitcoin mining, the crooks told him to invest in it.

The victim had no knowledge about cryptocurrency and sought more information. He was told that the virtual currency gave 100 to 150 per cent returns on investments, said the police.

The victim was made to speak to several clients, who supposedly got substantial returns. "It later came out that these people were members of the Bhardwaj gang," police added.

When the victim got suspicious of getting duped, the accused began avoiding his calls and meeting him. The victim then approached police as filed a case against him.

The cops will seek Bhardwaj's custody for arresting him in cases pertaining to Delhi.