The GainBitcoin Cryptocurrency Scam
GainBitcoin is known as one of the largest global scams, with over 8,000 investors losing money.
Amit Bhardwaj, a former Infosys employee, was an early participant in India's cryptocurrency market.
He created Highkart.com in 2013, an online store that accepted Bitcoin, and later established a company called Variabletech, which operated the notorious GainBitcoin scheme.
His brother's company, Norton Sales, was also involved in cryptocurrency under the GB Miners brand.
GainBitcoin is known as one of the largest global scams, with over 8,000 investors losing money. Despite Bhardwaj's arrest in 2019 and death in 2022, investigations continued into his family members and their involvement in the scheme.
Bhardwaj's scheme involved promising investors a 10% monthly return on investments for 18 months, paid in Bitcoin. However, as more people joined, it became hard to keep this promise.
He then altered the payout method to a low-value, pre-mined cryptocurrency called MCAP, without informing his investors.
Upon realizing the scam, investors reported the issue, leading to investigations by various state police departments and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The probe remains active, and recently two cybersecurity experts were arrested for illicitly transferring crypto assets found during the investigation.
Despite Bhardwaj's death, investigations into the scam continue.