2 arrests by ED in 2 years: Himachal crypto probe on thin ice

A Himachal Pradesh police officer said, “The actual number of victims range between 80,000 and 1 lakh, who were further linked to around 1.50 lakh people. For instance, the main investor would be issued a unique ID to keep a tab on her investment in cryptocurrency. That person enrolled 10 others, including relatives and friends, resulting in 10 other digital IDs being generated under the main investor’s ID. The investigation also established that in some of the cases, the unique ID holder invested under the IDs of her relatives and friends.”

Based on around 500 complaints received on a dedicated helpline launched in 2024, most victims were found to be from Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, Una districts of Himachal Pradesh and some even from Punjab’s Phagwara. They had invested the money received as compensation from the government for acquiring their land for various road projects.

“The total amount from the complaints went up to an estimated Rs 1,740 crore in the MLM-related cryptocurrency between 2018 and 2022. We have filed multiple chargesheets against 76 accused in the response of almost 280 complaints. Many of the complaints are yet to be addressed,” a senior SIT officer said.

In 2019 the fraud gained momentum, investigators said, with returns being churned out after a one-time deposit. The scammers fixed the price of the digital coin — the face value initially starting at nearly Rs 70 each would shoot up to between Rs 800 and Rs 4,000. They claimed that the cryptos would only be traded in dollars.

In September, 2024, when the scam surfaced, the Himachal Pradesh Police constituted an SIT under then DIG (Northern Range), Dharamshala, Abhishek Dullar. At present, Dullar is IG (Law & Order), Himachal Pradesh Police in Shimla. The SIT exists under SP (CID) Rajesh Chabra.

‘Three main categories’

Apart from the latest ED arrest of Masoom Juneja, seven accused, including accomplices of Subhash, are still behind bars and their bail pleas have been rejected even by the Himachal Pradesh High Court, the SIT officer said. “The trial is yet to start against any of the accused.”

Another SIT officer said, “Besides the kingpin, there are three main categories of people in the scam. The first consists of those who earned the most. The second is the team leaders who worked on the ground to get investors. The third comprises the victims.”

Abhishek Sharma from Una district, Syal, Sukhdev, Hemraj Thakur from Mandi — the first to be arrested by the ED — Amit Pratap Singh from Shimla, Milan Garg from Haryana and Vijay Juneja are in different jails in Himachal. Sukhdev and Hemraj were arrested in Gujarat on October 3.

Paras Ram Saini and Gobind Goswami, who also worked directly under Subhash, were arrested from Himachal, Panchkula in Haryana and Zirakpur in Punjab.

Vijay Juneja is among 76 accused so far arrested by the Himachal Pradesh Police over the past two years. Over a period of time, 69 accused, including four women, have been released on bail.

In 2019 the fraud gained momentum, investigators said, with returns being churned out after a one-time deposit.

“The multi-crore scam was spread across many states, especially in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and in some parts of Haryana and Delhi. It came to light in 2023 after Himachal Pradesh Police registered four FIRs and Punjab Police one. The ED took cognizance of the scam in March 2024 and initiated proceedings under Section 17 (1) of the PMLA. So far, we have arrested two suspects —Hemraj Thakur and Masoom Juneja. As per our investigation, the mastermind Subhash Sharma, 44, is believed to be in Dubai. Our investigation is on,” an Assistant Director-rank officer of ED told The Indian Express.

A senior ED officer told The Indian Express, “Our claim that the MLM scam… is of Rs 500 crore is based on the chargesheet of Himachal Pradesh Police. Indeed, around 2.5 lakh victims invested Rs 1,740 crore between 2018 and 2022 in the MLM through cryptocurrencies but most of them received their money back as returns. The fraud was calculated to be around Rs 500 crore.”

Rewind: In the House

In 2023, during the Monsoon Session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, then independent MLA from Dehra, Hoshyar Singh Chambyal, who later joined the BJP, first highlighted the scam and tabled a list of around 450 people who have been duped and demanded a police probe.

“Thousands of people from my constituency, Dehra, were cheated. Initially, they tried to lodge complaints with the local police but didn’t get a satisfactory response,” Chambyal said.

After his push, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu ordered a thorough investigation. A dedicated helpline was launched, an SIT was constituted, and the process of registering FIRs began.

Chambyal says he’s not satisfied with the probe’s momentum, however. “I am sure investors are yet to get back their hard-earned money. I have one satisfaction, though. After I raised the issue in the Assembly, people have stopped investing in cryptocurrency not only in Himachal Pradesh but also in other states. I got this feedback from the people.”