Pune: In a major crackdown on cryptocurrency fraud, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has conducted simultaneous raids at over 60 locations across Pune, Kolhapur, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and other cities. The raids are part of an ongoing investigation into a ₹6,600 crore Bitcoin scam, in which investors were misled into depositing funds with the promise of high monthly returns.

In 2017, Variable Tech Pvt. Ltd. launched an investment scheme called "Gain Bitcoin," promising 10% monthly returns on Bitcoin deposits. Thousands of investors were drawn into the scheme, and for a brief period, some even received returns. However, the company later stopped payouts, and its directors allegedly diverted ₹6,606 crore worth of Bitcoin into private accounts through complex financial networks.

The CBI has been aggressively pursuing the case, previously conducting raids in seven states, including Delhi, Jharkhand, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan. The agency has seized:

• ₹34.2 lakh in cash

• Cryptocurrency worth 38,414 US dollars

• Laptops, mobile phones, hard drives, pen drives, and other digital evidence

This is not the first major cryptocurrency scam under CBI’s radar. Last month, the agency raided multiple locations in a ₹350 crore crypto Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors. These enforcement actions aim to curb rising frauds in the cryptocurrency sector and prevent further financial exploitation of investors.

Given the massive scale and cross-border implications of the scam, the Supreme Court directed the CBI to handle the investigation. So far, the agency has seized multiple crypto wallets, financial records, and digital evidence from emails and cloud databases. Authorities are now tracing international transactions to uncover the full extent of the fraudulent operations.