Local media in India reported that 11 have been arrested, in links to a 5-year scam that cheated investors out of almost US$5.4M.
Four of the accused were apprehended on Saturday after being on the run since March last year. Seven others were caught on Sunday.
Nishid Wasnik, the operations leader, manipulated his firm’s website to display an upwards trajectory in investments to lure victims. He then siphoned the funds to his accounts from 2017 to 2021. Wasnik and two others from the arrest are also accused of kidnapping and shooting a person.
Crypto scams in India are on the rise, the government has been trying to regulate cryptocurrencies because they believe it is a very speculative and dangerous investment.
No regulation has been put into place yet besides a 30% tax increase to lure investors away. Although the citizens of India, are against these calls for regulation.
Would regulations make the crypto ecosystem a safer place for the public to invest in?