- The presumed mastermind of a scam associated to cryptocurrency, Umesh Verma, was arrested in India at his arrival from Dubai
- Verma had fled to Dubai in 2018 post closing his fraudulent company offices in India
- The Delhi University graduate indulged in fraudulent activities with investors in a cryptocurrency linked to his self-established crypto exchange
- The scheme offered a monthly return of 20-30% to investors on their respective investments
- Verma’s past record also exemplifies a criminal case registered in his name for his involvement in gold smuggling
Umesh Verma, the alleged mastermind behind a cryptocurrency scam was taken under custody at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The episode happened on Thursday when he was caught on his arrival from Dubai. Media reports from the local space suggest that the charges on which his arrest was based were that he duped at least 45 people in a cryptocurrency scam. The money worth involved was around the figure of Rs 2.5 crore.
Past record of Verma
Verma is a Delhi University graduate. He suffered immense losses in his existing business of jewellery and greeting cards, the major cause behind his dishonourable act of fraud. Prior to this, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had arrested him in a gold smuggling case, in December 2017.
Detailed follow-up of the scam
Currently, the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi police has taken hold of the 60-year old man. The accusations levied on him involve cheating and misappropriation of funds under the semblance of trading in cryptocurrency from investors. The apparently promised scheme offered investors with a monthly return of 20%-30% on their respective investments. An official complaint was registered under his name in September. The whole scam was organized under the label of Pluto Exchange which he and his son had set up in 2017. They claimed to establish the very first mobile application for cryptocurrency trading in India. An office was opened by Verma in one of the primary locations of Connaught Place. Further, they indulged in luring people using promotional YouTube videos in order to attract potential investments in the exchange’s cryptocurrency. They also controlled two websites for the same: plutoexchange.com and f2poolmining.com.
Failure in delivery of their professed promises led to Verma telling investors that the price of Bitcoin had plummeted. He also claimed that few of the bank accounts of the company have been seized. Further, he changed his address in order to escape the victims. The company consequently discontinued its offices in India while Verma ran off to Dubai in 2018. In Dubai, he began a trading business of commodities titled Bharat Umesh General Trading LLC.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.