Multiple people have been arrested by Indian police for impersonating government-backed solar power programs that demand investment in exchange for revenue. With the help of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Delhi Police seized $100,000 worth of Tether, the exchange confirmed in a blog post.
The scammers claimed to have secured rights from the Indian government’s Ministry of Power to expand the country’s solar power grid. The fake company claimed to be helping the country meet its renewable energy goals and collected funds from individuals who believed they would receive a cut of the company’s future profits. Of course, this was all a lie.
The scammers promoted a company known as ‘M/s Goldcoat Solar’ through social media, impersonating government officials and showing fake revenue certificates from alleged previous investors.
According to the police, the malicious group was operating using SIM cards that were activated using fake details of innocent individuals. This allows a wide range of networks to operate freely while concealing their true identity.
The funds transferred by the victims were collected through multiple bank accounts and some were converted into cryptocurrency. At this point, Indian police asked Binance to provide analysis and technical support. This collaboration ultimately led to the seizure of $100,000 worth of crypto assets, but this was only a fraction of what was stolen.
“Binance conducts sharing sessions with law enforcement agencies around the world, and this case highlights the positive results of these collaborations,” Jarek Jakubczek, Binance’s head of law enforcement training, said in a release. Ta. “Working with law enforcement agencies allows us to provide timely and critical assistance in financial investigations, and we will continue to do so in the fight against financial crime.”
This is not the first public case in which Binance has supported justice in a criminal case.
Just last month, the exchange assisted Indian law enforcement in investigating four people suspected of defrauding victims of $47.6 million and laundering money using cryptocurrencies. The group operates an online betting and gaming app that locks up users’ funds and makes it impossible to withdraw them. Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) provided technical expertise to track the movement of crypto assets.
Prior to that, Binance worked with Indian authorities to freeze millions of dollars related to a fraudulent digital investment scheme known as the E-Nugget scam. The application was touted as a gaming platform that lured users in with the promise of tremendous return on investment. Indian authorities announced that E-Nugget suddenly ceased operations and did not allow users to withdraw funds.
Edited by Stacey Elliott.
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