In the case of “HPZ Token and others,” the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has temporarily attached criminal proceeds in the form of movable and immovable properties valued at Rs. 278.71 crore that belong to a number of individuals and shell companies, including Chinese-affiliated shell entities that were allegedly implicated in defrauding investors out of hundreds of crores.
The Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act were the basis for the FIR that the Cyber Crime Police Station in Kohima, Nagaland, filed. This FIR concerned the deception of credulous investors who were promised enormous returns on their investment for the purpose of mining Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, using an app-based token known as the “HPZ Token.” The ED launched an investigation into this matter.
According to an ED investigation, different shell companies with fictitious directors and proprietors opened bank accounts and merchant IDs solely to rotate or layer proceeds of crime, which are money obtained fraudulently for investments in Bitcoin mining and unlawful online gaming and betting. Returns of Rs. 4,000 per day for three months were promised for an investment of Rs. 57,000, however, the money was only delivered once, and more funding was then requested.
The ED’s previous action, which involved search operations at 44 locations throughout the nation and the freezing of Rs. 176.67 crore held by shell companies in various banks and virtual accounts, is being followed up on by the current action of attaching proceeds of crime. The entire amount of criminal proceeds that the ED has so far frozen in this case is Rs. 455.37 crore. Additional research is currently being conducted.
