Crypto Investment Scam: 23 Booked by Pune Police For Allegedly Cheating Investors Of Rs 14.7 Crore
Pune, 31st October 2026: The Bund Garden police have registered an FIR against 23 people for allegedly cheating at least 22 investors of Rs 14.7 crore through a cryptocurrency investment platform. Police suspect around 750 people across the country may have been duped, with cases reported in several states.
The case was registered following a complaint by a 25-year-old farmer from Shetphal Gade village in Indapur taluka, who alleged that he and his family invested Rs 22.7 lakh in the platform. Twenty-one other investors subsequently approached the police, claiming they too had been cheated.
The accused include the platform’s founder, promoters and their associates. They have been booked under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The economic offences wing is investigating the case.
According to the complaint, the farmer was introduced to the platform by a friend in August 2023 and attended an investment seminar at a Baner hotel. The promoters allegedly assured investors of guaranteed returns of at least 6% every month, credited to their bank accounts on the sixth of each month.
Between December 2024 and February 2025, the farmer allegedly paid Rs 22.7 lakh to the accused, including Rs 5.5 lakh in cash and the remaining amount through RTGS transfers. Other investors told police that the platform never provided proof of the investments, which were made through cash or bank transfers.
The alleged fraud came to light after the Enforcement Directorate began investigating the platform in February 2025. The promoters subsequently shifted investors to other platforms and promised to return their money between January and March 2025, but later stopped responding, police said.
