- Thane police booked a 44-year-old man over an alleged Rs 1.61 crore crypto fraud.
- Seven investors were scammed with promises of high crypto returns between Dec. 2023 and Jun. 2025.
- The accused routed deposits to a woman’s bank account as police traced the money.
A 44-year-old man from Thane city has been booked for allegedly cheating seven people of Rs 1.61 crore after promising high returns through cryptocurrency investments, police said on Friday, according to PTI.
The case was registered by Kasarwadavali police after a complaint was filed on May 25. Police said the alleged fraud took place over an extended period between December 2023 and June 2025.
According to the complaint, a 45-year-old man alleged that the accused convinced him and six others to invest in cryptocurrency by promising lucrative returns. The accused allegedly collected Rs 1.61 crore from the group over time.
Police Track Funds to Woman’s Linked Bank Account
An official cited in the PTI report said the accused instructed the investors to deposit money into a specific bank account belonging to a woman. Her husband reportedly worked in the accused’s office.
The investors later failed to receive the returns they had been promised. Police said they eventually realized they had allegedly been cheated, after which the complaint was filed.
The report, however, did not name the accused or confirm whether any arrest had been made. Police said a probe is underway into the matter.
Seven-Investor Crypto Fraud Case Raises High-Return Scam Risks
The case comes amid continuing concerns over investment fraud linked to digital assets in India. Cryptocurrency-related scams often use the promise of high or guaranteed returns to draw in investors before directing funds into personal or third-party bank accounts.
The Reserve Bank of India has previously cautioned users, holders, and traders of virtual currencies about financial, operational, legal, customer protection, and security risks. The central bank has also stated that investors dealing in such assets do so at their own risk.
As such, India has brought Virtual Digital Asset service providers under the anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing framework of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. In a Lok Sabha reply dated March 30, 2026, the government said VDA service providers are reporting entities to the Financial Intelligence Unit-India and are required to report specified transactions, including suspicious transactions.
Cyber Fraud Victims Urged To Call 1930 And File Complaints
Notably, India’s National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal allows citizens to report cybercrime complaints online, including financial fraud. The portal states that complaints are handled by law enforcement agencies and police based on the information provided by complainants.
The portal also lists 1930 as the cybercrime helpline number for reporting cyber fraud. Authorities generally advise victims of online financial fraud to report suspicious transactions quickly and preserve transaction details, bank account information, screenshots, and communication records.
In the Thane case, police are now examining the complaint and the money trail to determine how the funds were collected and whether more people or accounts were involved.
Related: Chinese Hacker Gets Four Years for Hijacking 157 Government, Enterprise Websites
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