Rs 100-crore money laundering racket via crypto scheme busted

The Kerala police on Monday said they have busted a racket involved in money-laundering through cryptocurrency deals and arrested four people.

Senior Kannur city police officer P P Sadanandan said Muhammed Riyas, C Shafeeque, Munavvarali and Muhammed Shafeeque have been arrested by police on the charge of embezzling crores of rupees from investors in connection with the cryptocurrency deal.

Nishad, the kingpin of the racket, is absconding, police said.

Sadanandan, the Assistant Commissioner of Kannur, said the accused allegedly raised crores rupees through an online website created in the name of a fake company formed in Bengaluru and raised around Rs 100 crore from their customers by falsely promising them a dividend of two to eight per cent per day in cryptocurrency.

The police said around Rs 40 crore was found transacted through the account of one of the arrested and Rs 32 crore through the account of another.

The accused, after carrying out the transactions with their customers, allegedly transferred the rest of the huge funds into the account of Nishad, police said.

The crime branch wing of the Kerala police, which is investigating into a similar case in Malappuram district, had recently frozen Nishad's bank account with Rs 34 crore, police said.

Nishad was earlier arrested by police in Malappuram in connection with the money-laundering but he went absconding soon after securing bail, the police said.

He is said to be in the Middle-East, a senior police officer told PTI.

So far, only one complaint has been received from Kannur district, the police added.