Ladakh: The Enforcement Directorate raided Ladakh on Friday as part of a money laundering probe linked to a cryptocurrency fraud case where investors lost over Rs 7 crore in deposits, according to officials. The raids also covered five other locations, including Jammu and Sonipat in Haryana.
It is alleged that 2,508 investors deposited more than Rs 7.34 crore into a fake cryptocurrency business named “Emollient Coin Limited.” These investors did not receive any returns or currency back, and the funds were laundered by the business’s promoters to purchase land assets in Jammu.
The money laundering case originates from a March 2020 FIR registered in Leh and additional complaints filed in Jammu and Kashmir against Mir and Ajay Kumar Choudhary.
The police in Leh reported that an inquiry was conducted by a committee formed by the local district magistrate against Mir and his agents, who were operating the fraudulent cryptocurrency business (Emollient Coin Limited) from an office located at the Anjuman Moin-Ul complex, opposite SNM Hospital in Leh.
The committee sealed this office during the inquiry on charges of “cheating many innocent individuals by promising to double their investment,” according to the FIR.
The accused reportedly lured people from the UT of Ladakh and other areas to invest in “Emollient Coin” using cash or transferring money into bank accounts, according to Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials.
Depositors were also deceived with promises of returns up to 40 percent on “Bitcoins” with a lock-in period of 10 months, the ED stated.
ED found that investors were offered a commission of up to seven percent on investments made by people they referred to the business, creating a multi-level marketing chain. A total of 2,508 people invested Rs 7,34,36,267 in the plan offered by Mir and his company, Emollient, which was incorporated in September 2017 and had its registered office in London.
Henry Maxwell, residing in the UK capital, was its director. The company had two promoters in India — Naresh Gullia and Channi Singh. The company was “deliberately” dissolved in March 2019, and Mir, along with Choudhary, launched a real estate business and acquired land in Jammu using funds generated from the fake cryptocurrency trade, according to the ED.