India Seizes Assets in $162M Morris Coin Cryptocurrency Investment Scheme – Regulation Bitcoin News

Indian Enforcement Directorate seized assets in the case of a cryptocurrency fraud involving Morris coins. The scam was alleged to have deceived investors out of around $162 Million. These proceeds were used for the purchase of cryptocurrencies.

India authorities seize assets in an alleged crypto scam case

India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), a specialized financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, has seized assets valued at 36.72 crore rupees ($5 million) in connection with a cryptocurrency scam.

The ED began to investigate the scheme following a first-information report (FIR), which was received by the Kerala Police in accordance with the Indian Penal Code. Numerous other FIRs were also filed by the police of other areas.

It involves the use of a not-existent cryptocurrency, called Morris coin. Nishad managed to raise money from investors through his initial coin offering (ICO). The ED explained that they held “promotional events in the presence of celebrities” and used “flashy websites” to attract investors. Over 900 people were allegedly duped into paying 1,200 crore rupees by the police.

According to the ED: The investors’ money was used to buy immovable properties and cryptocurrencies as well luxury cars and premium hotels and resorts.

These assets were seized by Nishad K., and his associates. These assets include cash in several bank accounts and land as well as cryptocurrencies that were purchased from the proceeds of criminal activity.

Detail of the ED:

Cryptocurrencies such as ETH, BTC, BNB, YFI, VET, ADA, and USDT, valued at ₹25,82,794, and maintained at Indian and international crypto exchanges, were found. They were obtained from the proceeds of criminal activity.

“During investigation, all the above cryptocurrencies … were converted into Indian rupee and transferred to the bank account by the coins’ owner, which were attached,” the ED statement notes.

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Kevin Helms

Kevin is a graduate of Austrian Economics. He discovered Bitcoin in 2011, and has been an advocate ever since. His main interests are in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, cryptography, and intersections between economics, cryptography, and Cryptography.