ED seizes ₹21.71-crore assets linked to accused in $20-million crypto fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth ₹21.71 crore belonging to an accused, along with his family members and associates, who was arrested in the United States in December 2023 for allegedly stealing over $20 million via fake or spoofed websites mimicking that of cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase.

The nine properties are linked to accused Chirag Tomar, his family members and associates named Rahul Anand, Akash Vaish, and Piyush Prashar. The total attachment in the case so far stands at ₹64.15 crore.

“The ED investigation revealed that the trusted websites were spoofed in such a way by search engine optimisation that when the website would be searched, the spoofed one would appear at the top...when the users would enter the login credentials, the spoofed website would show it as wrong.

Therefore, they would contact the number given therein, which would eventually connect them to the calls managed by Chirag Tomar and his associates,” said the agency.

Once the fraudsters gained access, they quickly transferred the cryptocurrency holdings of the victims to the wallets under their control. The stolen cryptocurrency would then be sold on various P2P crypto platforms and converted to Indian currency. “Subsequently, the money was transferred in the bank accounts of Chirag Tomar, his family members, and his associates accounts and used to buy immovable properties, the ED alleged. The accused was arrested while entering the US.