Farewell, then, KBC Coin. Indian authorities bust crypto racket

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of India has arrested the alleged creators of the cryptocurrency KBC Coin.

According to a report by the Times of India, Vijay Prajapati, Dhiraj Patel, Kamruddin Syed, and Ashiq Shaikh launched the coin six months ago and lured investors with the promise of converting 10 paise into 10 rupees “in no time’.

Authorities said that Baljeetsingh Lashkariya (a promoter of the scheme) had floated the cryptocurrency about two years ago and roped in thousands of investors. However, “the value of KBC Coins never increased… [and] the promoters went underground,” noted Ashish Bhatia, Director General of Police in the CID.

$14.2 million has been reported missing so far, as per a complaint by Rajesh Maniya, who claims that he, his friends and relatives invested that amount of money in the project.

Cracking down

Indian lawmakers recently proposed a jail term of one to ten years for those who mine, hold or sell cryptocurrencies. This is part of a draft bill entitled Banning Cryptocurrencies and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019.