Binance and the Indian police have seized more than $100,000 linked to a crypto scam ring.
According to The Hindu, the operation was carried out on October 15. It was carried out by the Indian police. They uncovered a criminal enterprise under the name M/s Goldcoat Solar, leading to the arrest of several individuals.
Solar power scam busted in sting operation
The criminals claimed they obtained a license from India’s Ministry of Power. The platform was said to have keyed into the government’s plan to expand solar power capacity to 450 gigawatts by 2030.
The fraudulent claim convinced many unsuspecting citizens who believed that they were investing in a national energy initiative. The investors were also hopeful of lucrative returns, according to the promises of the company.
The scammers were said to have promoted their fraudulent initiative across various social media platforms. They also impersonated several high-ranking members of the country to falsely endorse the scheme.
The criminals were able to gain the trust of their victims by falsifying evidence of earnings and testimonies from previous investors in the initiative.
Binance recovered funds linked to the crime
As part of their major plan, the criminals moved the funds deposited by their victims to various banks. They also converted some funds into crypto to hide the trail through crypto exchange Binance.
Head of Law Enforcement Training at Binance Jarek Jakubcek discussed the importance of collaborations between crypto firms and law enforcement.
Jakubcek said the crypto exchange has been in contact with law enforcement worldwide and this case is one of the positives of the initiative.
This case is one of the trending crypto-related fraud cases in India. In the early part of the year, an operation led to the arrest of Vishnu Rathi, who was accused of defrauding a US citizen of more than $450,000. The modus operandi of the criminals is to convince their unsuspecting victims to transfer funds into their accounts.
Similarly, authorities in Hong Kong also arrested criminals tied to a crypto fraud syndicate. According to reports, the criminals used deepfake technology to steal $43 million in a romance scam.
The criminals have been operating from an industrial unit in Hung Him since October 2023. They used AI to change the faces of scammers with that of beautiful women during video calls.
The criminals contact their victims on several apps, lying about their details and qualifications to present themselves as desirable partners.