Bollywood star to be questioned over alleged $14.5 million ‘Cashcoin’ crypto scam

An unnamed Bollywood star is set to be questioned over an alleged crypto scam which raised $14.5 million, Indian media reports.

Four men have been arrested in India – including the supposed kingpin.

The unidentified actor attended seminars and promotions for the cryptocurrency, reports the Times of India. Police suspect that he may have been paid to attend.

A special crime branch known as ‘Unit XII’ arrested the four suspects in Delhi.

Last month Unit XII busted the alleged fake crypto racket which cops said was duping unwitting civilians into buying Cashcoin.

The racket behind the fake cryptocurrency had reportedly been promising potential clients they would double their investment.

Cashcoin raised Rs 100 crore, which is roughly $14.5 million.

The four suspects arrested were Ashok Goyal Jaipuria, Asif Malpani, Baljit Singh Saini, and Pradeep Arora.

The men have been charged with cheating, breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Information Technology Act.

Police have frozen several of Goyal’s bank accounts – who is believed to be the mastermind behind the operation – while they continue to probe the case, it was reported.

In the first bust, police arrested Sanjay Sontakke (44), Rajnikant Kumavat (46), Alpesh Barodia (32), and Kirankumar Panchsara (38) from Mumbai, Surat, and Uttar Pradesh.

A resident of Surat, Umeshchand Jain, alleged the accused duped him of Rs 1.2 crore, or $174,000.

He has stated the racket held countrywide seminars to lure people into investing in Cashcoin with the promise they would turn significant profits.

Unit XII Senior Inspector Sunil Jadhav said: “The gang launched Cashcoin, a cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin, a year back, and initially showed profits to a few investors and gained their confidence. They thus got more investors and duped them.”

Interested in reading more crypto and crime-related news? Discover how German police arrested three people over a $250,000 crypto electricity hijack.