Gujarat Police have had their hands full dealing with a plethora of cybercrimes. Of late, they’ve been identifying suspects linked with a transnational crypto scam.
A city tabloid reported that cybercriminals have duped 10 victims to the tune of Rs 34 lakh in the last eight months.
They target NRIs and locals in Ahmedabad, Anand, Aravalli, and Sabarkantha. The initial complaint was filed in January 2023.
The report mentioned that the police identified 50 people in the state who were enticed into investing in a scheme called ‘Daiki Coin.’ Officials claim this list comes from a local dealer in Anand named Justin Pereira.
Although the scheme hints at a Japanese origin, those linked to it are based in Nepal and India.
The Daiki Coin website hasn’t been functioning.
The first FIR named Surya Poudel, a Nepali citizen, Krishna, owner of the ‘ebarter’ firm from Himachal Pradesh, and Ahmedabad-based Vijay Dave and Vijay Patel. Justin Pereira, the fifth accused, has been arrested.
They have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including criminal breach of trust, cheating, and abetment. They are also detained under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, the Gujarat Protection of Interest Depositors Act, and the IT Act.
Inspector CP Chaudhary of Cybercrime, Anand, told the tabloid, “We are investigating this large-scale fraud where victims were lured to invest in Daiki Coin with promises of triple returns. The scam has been operational since 2021, and our investigation kicked off this January when the first victim filed a complaint.”
Inspector Chaudhary said reaching out to other victims has been challenging since they are spread across different states.
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