Indian Police Crack Down on $2.4M Crypto Scam
1min read In a significant blow to cryptocurrency fraudsters, Indian police have dismantled a major scam that defrauded over 2,000 victims and resulted in losses of $2.4 million. The operation, conducted by Assam police, led to the arrest of three individuals—Asadul Islam, Hashanur Zaman, and Kobad Ali Mollah—who were allegedly involved in running a fraudulent scheme under the guise of "RSN crypto."
The scam targeted residents in Assam and the neighboring state of Meghalaya, luring victims with promises of lucrative returns through a crypto game called RSN. Investigators revealed that each victim was tricked into investing a minimum of $610 (₹ 50,000), with the total amount misappropriated ranging between $1.2 and $2.4 million (₹ 10-20 crore).
The mastermind behind the operation, Hekmot Ali Sarkar, remains at large, but authorities are actively working to apprehend him. During the raid, police seized several devices, including eight mobile phones, two laptops, and eleven sim cards, all of which contained vital evidence related to the crypto scam. It was also discovered that the fraudsters were renting bank accounts to other criminals nationwide, complicating the police's operations.
The scam website at the core of the scheme was traced back to China, with technical analysis revealing the site was hosted on amazon servers. The fraudsters used online payment platforms such as Paytm and PhonePe to collect funds, which were then converted into the Tether stablecoin, USDT, on crypto exchanges before being transferred to international accounts.
This operation is part of a larger crackdown on crypto fraud in India, as the country faces a rising number of Ponzi schemes targeting vulnerable investors. Late last month, the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids at multiple locations across the country as part of its investigation into the $800 million (₹6,600 crore) GainBitcoin scam. In Mumbai, Ravi Mahaseth, managing director of Coin ZX, was recently arrested for allegedly scamming investors out of $23 million (₹200 crore). Coin ZX reportedly promised high returns on Bitcoin investments, only for payments to stop after a few months, leaving investors at a loss 