NEW DELHI: Gaurav Mehta, a cyber expert at the heart of an alleged Bitcoin scam involving the transfer of illegal funds to Maharashtra politicians, was questioned on Wednesday and his premises in Raipur searched by Enforcement Directorate. He has also been directed by CBI to appear before it immediately.
The two central agencies swooped in on Mehta a day after former IPS officer Ravindranath Patil named him as a key witness in a 2018 cryptocurrency fraud case. Sources confirmed the raids covered Mehta’s premises, but did not disclose any further details as the search was ongoing.
The anti-money laundering agency carried out the search on Mehta’s premises in connection with a cryptocurrency laundering case related to Variable Tech Pvt Ltd. The PMLA case was registered in 2018 on the basis of multiple FIRs filed by Maharashtra and Delhi police against a number of accused, some of whom are still absconding, associated with running a ponzi scam in which they collected over Rs 6,600 crore from public promising 10% monthly returns through Bitcoin mining.