Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a chargesheet under anti-money laundering law against 299 entities, in a special court in Nagaland on Wednesday. In a total of 299 entities, 76 are of Chinese-controlled entities, 10 are of Chinese origin and two are of other foreign national.
The case is connected to the alleged duping of investors in the name of mining cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins through an app-based token system, said the ED.
A Money Laundering Case Filed in a Special Court
On Tuesday, a special court in Dimapur, Nagaland, took cognizance of a prosecution complaint filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA).
The investigation revealed that an app named ‘HPZ Token’ was used to ‘cheat’ the investors with the promise of a prodigious return on investing money.
FIR registered in Nagaland
ED said an FIR has been registered against the Cybercrime Unit in Kohima police station in Nagaland under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 1880 and the Information Technology Act linked to the duping of gullible investors.
Investigation
In an earlier investigation, ED found various bank accounts and merchant IDs were opened by shell entities with dummy directors, and an amount of Rs 176.67 crore was found in virtual bank accounts of shell entities during a search conducted by ED in 44 locations throughout the country.
“These funds were fraudulently received for illegal online gaming and betting and investment for Bitcoin mining. For an investment of Rs 57,000, returns of Rs 4,000 per day for three months were promised but money was paid only once, and thereafter fresh funds were sought,” ED said in a statement.
The searches conducted by ED in this case of money laundering, led to the seizure of immovable assets and deposits with a total worth of Rs 455 crore.
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