Supriya Sule involved in cryptocurrency scam to fund polls, claims ex-IPS officer; she denies charges  

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Hours before the Maharashtra Assembly Elections, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ravindra Nath Patil on Tuesday made explosive claims, alleging that Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule and Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole were involved in a cryptocurrency scam.

However, the NCP (SP) leader has denied all the allegations made against her in a post on social media platform X.

According to news agency IANS, Patil accused the two leaders, whose parties are a part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, of using Bitcoin manipulation to fund election campaigns. Patil further alleged that the cash obtained from cryptocurrency dealings is being utilised in the campaign for Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024. He further alleged that similar manipulation had been resorted to during the recently held Lok Sabha Elections, too.

Speaking to IANS, Patil implicated Pune's former Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta and cybercrime investigator Bhagyashree Navatke, claiming that they were involved in the Bitcoin scam but had received protection from Sule and Patole.

Sharing the details of the whole scam, Patil explained that in 2018, his company had hired him (Patil) as a cryptocurrency expert to investigate the scam. However, in 2022, he was arrested on fraud charges and spent 14 months in jail. During this time, he was trying to ascertain as to why he was framed. He and his colleagues continued working to get to the facts. And finally, they have come across startling facts, he added.

Patil revealed that a key witness in the case, Gaurav Mehta - an employee of an audit firm - had contacted him several times in the past few days. When Patil finally responded, Mehta shared details about the 2018 cryptocurrency fraud investigation. Mehta alleged that during the arrest of Amit Bhardwaj, a cryptocurrency trader, a hardware wallet containing Bitcoin was seized.

However, according to Mehta, the wallet was replaced by another one allegedly under the Gupta's direction. Mehta further claimed that Patil and his colleagues were arrested unjustly, while the real culprits were Gupta and his team.

According to Patil, Mehta had named Sule and Nana Patole in the scam and alleged that the two politicians were using the cash obtained through Bitcoin manipulation to fund election campaigns, including the Lok Sabha polls and the current Maharashtra Assembly elections. Patil claimed that Mehta, under Gupta's direction, made multiple trips to Dubai to convert Bitcoin into cash, which was then used to finance election activities in Maharashtra.

Patil told IANS that Mehta sent several voice recordings on Signal - social media app - including messages from Sule requesting cash in exchange for Bitcoin. In the recordings, Sule allegedly assured Mehta that there was no need to worry about the investigation, as they would handle it once they came to power.

Another recording reportedly featured Patole, inquiring about the delay in the cash transaction. Though the audio messages are available with IANS, the agency claimed that it does not vouch for the veracity of the clips.

Patil also spoke of another recording featured Gupta demanding Rs 50 crore. In another conversation, Gupta allegedly said that he had created four cryptocurrency wallets in the names of Patil and his colleague and that transactions had been made from these wallets. Gupta allegedly suggested that if an investigation took place, both Patil and his colleague would be implicated, and "we would be safe", said Patil referring to chats with Mehta.

The former IPS officer added that Mehta had already sold Bitcoin worth Rs 150 crore, and he still held hundreds of crores worth of it. He claimed that this remaining cryptocurrency was being used for election-related funding. Patil expressed his readiness to cooperate with investigating agencies, stating that he had all the necessary screenshots and audio recordings to support his claims. According to him, Navatke is also heard saying, "We need cash Gaurav, I am coming to Mumbai."

Patil was in fact arrested in 2022 by Pune Police in connection with a multi-crore cryptocurrency fraud case. He is a 2004-batch IPS officer and had worked in the corporate sector as a cybersecurity expert since 2010. In 2018, he was appointed as a forensic auditor in the Bitcoin fraud case.

(With IANS inputs)