Bitcoin scam: Woman sent to judicial custody

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A special court in Mumbai has remanded a woman, held for allegedly cheating people by luring them into investing in Bitcoins on the promise of high returns, to 14-day judicial custody. The accused, Simpy Bhardwaj, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi on December 17. The special court hearing cases pertaining to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had remanded the woman in custody of the Enforcement Directorate till December 26.

The accused was produced before special court judge, M G Deshpande, on Tuesday after her ED remand ended. The court then sent her to jail after the probe agency did not seek her further remand. The ED has alleged that Bhardwaj along with others cheated gullible investors after luring them into Bitcoin investment on the promise of high returns.

The central agency said that in its investigation it found that the accused met various investors and lured them into Ponzi schemes by assuring guaranteed income of 10 per cent every month. The total proceeds of the crime in the case are Rs 6,606 crore and the hard-earned life earnings of several people from across India, including Maharashtra, have been collected and laundered, the court said. Bhardwaj and her associates falsely portrayed themselves as leaders in Bitcoin mining in India and claimed to have a massive cloud mining set-up in China, Hong Kong and Singapore, the probe revealed.

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