Indian authorities have swooped in on one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency scams, seizing digital assets worth ₹23.94 crore ($2.75 million) in a massive crackdown. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided 60 locations across India, targeting the masterminds behind the GainBitcoin scam. A classic Ponzi scheme, really. Just with a shiny Bitcoin wrapper.
The fraud, launched in 2015 by Amit Bhardwaj and his associates, promised investors a too-good-to-be-true 10% monthly return on Bitcoin investments for 18 months. Spoiler alert: it was too good to be true. By the time the scheme collapsed, an estimated ₹6,600 crore ($758 million) had vanished from investors’ pockets.
Too good to be true? It was. 10% monthly Bitcoin returns evaporated along with $758 million of investor money.
CBI officers hit premises in Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, and Chandigarh. They walked away with 121 documents, 12 mobile phones, 34 laptops, and a treasure trove of digital evidence. Multiple hardware crypto wallets were also seized during the nationwide searches conducted in February 2025. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched its own investigation, freezing bank accounts and seizing ₹2.18 crore linked to suspect Chirag Tomar and family.
The scam’s operation was textbook Ponzi with a crypto twist. Early investors got paid in Bitcoin—keeping the hype alive. Then came the switch to their in-house worthless token called MCAP. Classic bait and switch. When new investment dried up, the whole house of cards tumbled down. Unlike legitimate DeFi platforms, which use transparent smart contracts to automate financial transactions, GainBitcoin relied on centralized control to perpetuate its fraud.
Legal proceedings have ramped up since the Supreme Court transferred multiple state FIRs to the CBI. Three fresh FIRs were registered in August 2024. Complicating matters, key accused Amit Bhardwaj is deceased, leaving his brother Ajay in the hot seat. The investigation mirrors techniques used in other crypto scams, with authorities meticulously tracking wallet transactions to unravel the complex financial web.
This isn’t India’s first crypto rodeo. The BitConnect scandal saw ED seize assets worth ₹1,646 crore, and the Lazarus group attack on WazirX resulted in a $235 million cryptocurrency theft.
The GainBitcoin scam has left thousands of victims reeling and further eroded trust in India’s crypto ecosystem. Authorities continue the hunt for missing funds—likely a futile exercise. The money’s probably long gone.
