Bengaluru: Joining the big league of financial fraud cases, like cheque bounce and online swindling, is the cryptocurrency investment, such as Bitcoin, iCoin and others, that has taken the Internet by storm.
Hundreds of complaints are pouring in at various police stations across the state, including Uppalli, Gaurikaluve, Vijayapura, Tipunagara, Allampura, Mallandooru, Mallenahalli, Kadur, Mudigere, N.R. Pura, Beluru and Chikkamagaluru in the recent past. One of the victims is by Ms Sindhura, who is the granddaughter of former MLA late C.M.S. Shastri. She had reportedly invested in a cryptocurrency and she had filed a complaint with the police after getting cheated.
One of the complaints names two accused, who have approached the Karnataka High Court and obtained bail. They have been booked for offences punishable under Sections 406 & 420 of IPC, Section 66(D) of Information Technology Act, 2000 and under Sections 21(2)(3) & 22 of Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance, 2019. The case is pending before the Second Additional District and Sessions Judge in Chikkamagaluru.
One of the victims Mohammed Zuber has alleged in his complaint that the prime accused, Rukshida Baaanu, lured him and others to invest money in “Bitcoin” and “’I’ Coin” website schemes with the promise that their money would be doubled in six months.
Rukshida had told them that if the amount is not withdrawn, a bonus will be paid. She had also said that a message will be sent to the depository to create an ID for the amount to be deposited, and Zuber deposited Rs 35,000. An ID was created in his name and he received a message about the depositing the amount. But he did not receive any amount from the accused. When the complainant enquired about it and asked her to return the amount, she told him that there was a problem in the ‘I-Coin’ website.
Instead of repaying the amount, she introduced a new scheme and told Zuber to deposit Rs 25,000 which he did on March 4, 2019.
Within a week she paid Rs 6,000 and when he asked for the amount in the second week, she gave an evasive answer and was getting ready to leave the place. That was when he filed a complaint.
While granting bail to the accused, the high court cited that there are no other allegations against them and their role in respect with the prime accused has to be established during the trial. Several conditions have been imposed for their bail.
