In a major breakthrough, the police have arrested one of the key operatives involved in the multi-crore cryptocurrency scam that duped over one lakh investors in Himachal Pradesh. Milan Garg, believed to be one of the top lieutenants of the scam’s mastermind, was apprehended at the Kolkata airport as he attempted to flee the country.
Sources reveal that Garg, a 35-year-old resident of Meerut, played a central role in setting up the complex cryptocurrency network that defrauded unsuspecting victims of over Rs. 2,500 crores since 2018. He allegedly designed the fake digital coins like Korvio and Fish Token that were promoted with misleading promises of exorbitant returns. Garg is also said to have managed the website operations and networking used to dupe investors.
After the massive scam came to light earlier this year, Garg had fled abroad but returned to India a few weeks ago from a neighbouring country. Acting on a tip-off, the police special investigation team laid a trap and nabbed him at the airport before he could board an international flight and escape arrest again. He was brought to Shimla and sent to two days of police remand by a local court for further questioning.
The investigation has so far charged over 25 people involved, however, the suspected mastermind behind the whole racket continues to evade the law. Subhash Sharma, a native of Sarkaghat, is still at large and believed to be hiding somewhere outside the country. With this high-profile arrest of Garg, authorities are hopeful of obtaining new leads to finally apprehend Sharma and book all those responsible for the huge financial losses suffered by the victims.
The case has highlighted the risks of unregulated cryptocurrency trading and several authorities have reiterated alerts about such dubious schemes. While no information on recovering the lost money has been shared yet, this arrest is a step towards obtaining justice for those thousands of lives impacted in the scam.
