Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (OPID) court on Wednesday imposed a seven-year rigorous imprisonment sentence along with a Rs 2.35 lakh fine on a man found guilty in a Rs 1.13 crore cryptocurrency investment fraud, as informed by the economic offences wing (EOW).
The EOW arrested Nilesh Kumar Kar (45), a resident of Balasore district, on April 6, 2023, following a complaint by a victim, Mahamanya Jena. The victim alleged that Kar persuaded him to deposit in a crypto investment platform (mobile application) promising hefty income.
“The victim transferred Rs 2,13,038 between January to March, 2023, after being convinced. The application ceased operations when he was due to receive the assured Rs 50,57,117 on his investment, preventing him from withdrawing his funds,” an EOW officer said.
The EOW investigation revealed that the accused had defrauded various investors across Odisha, accumulating Rs 1.13 crore through the scheme. “The fraudulent application required a minimum investment of Rs 665 for membership, promising returns of Rs 1,487.25 after 37 days. Members were promised daily earnings of at least Rs 40 on investments and Rs 1.75 for daily logins. Kar lured over 400 Odisha residents as members of the fake online investment platform,” the EOW officer said.
To establish credibility, the accused presented counterfeit RBI authorisation documents and a false appointment letter from the website owner. After collecting substantial funds, the e-wallet and mobile application were shut down, leaving investors in financial distress.