Shimla, Dec 14 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Shimla, has carried out search operations at eight premises across Himachal Pradesh and Punjab under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with an ongoing probe into a large-scale fake cryptocurrency-based Ponzi/Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) scam, an official statement said on Sunday.
The scam allegedly duped lakhs of investors from the two states to the tune of around Rs 2,300 crore.
The searches were conducted on Saturday.
The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by various police stations in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab against Subhash Sharma, the alleged mastermind of the scam -- who reportedly fled the country in 2023 -- and other associated persons.
The FIRs were registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Chit Funds Act, 1982, the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019, and other allied laws.
According to the ED, the accused floated and operated fraudulent cryptocurrency-based MLM/Ponzi schemes through platforms such as Korvio, Voscrow, DGT, Hypenext, and A-Global, luring gullible investors with false promises of exceptionally high returns.
These platforms were unregulated and self-created, operating purely as Ponzi schemes in which funds from new investors were used to pay earlier investors.
The investigation further revealed that the accused created multiple fake crypto platforms, manipulated fictitious token prices, and periodically shut down and rebranded the platforms to conceal the fraud and evade detection.
The ED also found that proceeds of crime were laundered through cash-based collections routed via well-known builders -- who were also covered during the searches -- shell entities, and the personal bank accounts of the accused and their relatives. Several individuals acting as commission agents allegedly earned crores of rupees by recruiting new investors into the scheme.
To expand the network, the accused reportedly offered foreign travel incentives and organised promotional events to entice investors.
Despite freezing orders issued on November 4, 2023, by the competent authority based on investigations by the state police -- and duly communicated to the Finance Secretary, the court, and the Punjab government’s revenue authorities -- 15 plots of land in Zirakpur, Punjab, were illegally sold.
The sale was allegedly carried out by one of the accused, Vijay Juneja, who was arrested by Himachal Pradesh Police in 2025, in blatant violation of the law.
As a result of the searches, the ED has frozen three lockers and bank balances/fixed deposits amounting to approximately Rs 1.2 crore.
In addition, several incriminating documents related to investments in multiple immovable properties, including benami assets acquired using proceeds of crime, investor databases, commission structures, and digital devices have been seized, indicating large-scale generation and laundering of illicit funds. Further investigation is underway.
--IANS
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