The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in Ahmedabad has dealt a significant blow to one of history’s largest cryptocurrency frauds, recovering Rs. 1,646 crore (approx. $219 million) in illicit crypto assets linked to the BitConnect Ponzi scheme during coordinated raids on 11 and 15 February.
The operation—part of a years-long probe into the multi-billion-rupee scam—also seized Rs. 13.5 lakh in cash, a luxury Lexus sedan, and critical digital evidence, marking a watershed moment in India’s crackdown on financial cybercrime.
The BitConnect scandal, which duped global investors between 2016 and 2018, promised monthly returns of up to 40% through a fictitious “volatility software trading bot”.
Indian victims alone poured thousands of crores into the scheme before it collapsed, with promoters falsely claiming annualized profits of 3,700% while funneling deposits into personal wallets via the Dark Web.
Investigators confirmed the trading algorithm never existed; instead, operators recycled investor funds to sustain payouts to earlier participants—a hallmark of Ponzi fraud.
Unraveling this web required ED’s cyber-finance unit to trace transactions across darknet platforms and anonymized wallets.
“By analyzing blockchain patterns and collaborating with global agencies, we identified wallets controlled by BitConnect’s inner circle,” an ED source stated.
The breakthrough came after months of decrypting devices and leveraging ground intelligence to pinpoint physical storage locations for digital assets.
This seizure builds on prior actions, including the 2023 attachment of Rs. 489 crore in properties tied to Indian promoters.
With BitConnect’s founder under parallel investigation in the U.S., the ED emphasizes cross-border cooperation to reclaim losses for victims worldwide.
The scale of recovered assets underscores the scam’s sophistication. “This wasn’t just greed—it was a meticulously engineered deception exploiting crypto’s anonymity,” noted a financial crimes analyst.
Authorities urge affected investors to come forward as forensic audits of seized devices continue.
As regulatory frameworks struggle to keep pace with crypto innovations, the BitConnect case highlights both the vulnerabilities of digital finance and law enforcement’s evolving capacity to combat web-enabled fraud.
With over $2 billion allegedly scammed globally, this seizure sets a precedent for international asset recovery in the blockchain age.
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