Bitcoin Fraud Case: ED Arrests Hemant Sharma From Dehradun

Dehradun: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested Hemant Ishwar Sharma in connection with the Bitcoin fraud case during raids at multiple locations in Dehradun. Several incriminating documents and electronic evidence were seized during the raids, and Sharma was produced before the PMLA court, which granted him four-day ED custody.

The investigation is based on an FIR filed against Sharma by the Rajpur police station in Dehradun for cheating under Section 420 of the IPC. A similar FIR was also registered at the Dineshpur police station in Uttarakhand's Udham Singh Nagar district against him and others for the same case, the ED statement said.

ED investigation revealed that Sharma had fraudulently amassed a substantial amount of money from common people under the pretext of investing in Bitcoin through the website BTCFUND.IS, which was under his control.

"He lured investors by promising high returns and falsely claimed that several foreign nationals were associated with his company, thereby projecting the scheme as credible and internationally backed. Investors from across India were induced to deposit funds on the platform on these false representations," the ED said in a statement.

ED said the proceeds of the crime were channelled by Sharma to his personal bank accounts and subsequently invested in immovable properties registered in his name, which constitutes an offence under PMLA, 2002.

Assets worth approximately Rs 4.56 crore, including land and bank balances, of Sharma have been attached, and further investigation is being carried out.

On April 23, ED teams raided Sharma’s residence on Mohini Road in Dehradun, where important documents were examined as part of the ongoing probe. Authorities said further action is underway, and efforts are being made to identify and reach out to victims.

Officials have also urged potential investors to remain cautious while dealing with high-return investment schemes, especially those with cryptocurrencies.

In a separate incident, the ED on Tuesday concluded searches after nearly 21 hours of operations in connection with an alleged Bitcoin-linked money laundering case. Raids were carried out at several properties linked to Congress leaders across Karnataka, including multiple locations in Bengaluru.

The case came to light in 2020 following a drug-related investigation about narcotics being smuggled into the city. During the probe, several individuals were identified, including Sujay, Hemanth Muddappa, Sunish Hegde, Prasiddhi Shetty, Darshana Lamani, Pankaj Kothari, Madan, Ashish and the prime accused, Srikrishna, also known as Sriki.

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