New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) A Maharashtra-based man who allegedly posed as a finance ministry official and duped people through an investment fraud has fled India after acquiring the passport of Antigua and Barbuda, the Enforcement Directorate said on Thursday.
Amit Lakhanpal, who cheated people to the tune of Rs 113 crore, is currently living in Dubai by assuming a fake identity, the federal probe agency said in a statement.
The ED has registered a money laundering case against Lakhanpal and others, taking cognisance of an FIR filed by Thane Police.
On August 12, the agency conducted raids in the case in Thane and Mumbai and seized Rs 1 crore in cash, apart from some documents.
It was alleged that an unrecognised cryptocurrency — Money Trade Coin (MTC) — was created and a large number of investors were fraudulently induced to invest in it, resulting in a Rs 113.10 crore fraud between August 2017 and April 2018.
Following searches, the ED found that several seminars were conducted in Delhi, Pune and Nashik, where Lakhanpal falsely represented himself as a finance ministry official and promised substantial returns on investment in the MTC coin.
He allegedly lured investors by promising government recognition for the MTC coin.
“Subsequently, various schemes and exchanges, including Coin Deposit Ratio, MTC Banque, MTCX India and Cryptozaniya, were floated. In these schemes, the MTC coin rates were allegedly manipulated, and withdrawal or trading facilities were stopped, causing investors to lose their principal and promised returns,” the ED claimed.
The agency said that Lakhanpal, along with other accomplices, fled India after acquiring a passport from the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, and he is currently living in Dubai under a fake identity. PTI NES RUK RUK
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