ED Arrests Two in Rs 146 Crore Money Laundering Probe Linked to Hashpe Cryptocurrency Fraud
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested two individuals in connection with a Rs 146 crore money laundering investigation into the alleged Hashpe cryptocurrency fraud case.
Syed Usman, alias Babu, and Dhamodharan Balachandran were arrested on September 22 by ED's Chennai Zonal Office, II under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
An investigation revealed that the accused had floated an investment scheme called 'Hashpe', projecting it as a cryptocurrency trading platform, and promised investors lucrative returns through a purported cryptocurrency named 'TCX'.
Investors were allegedly induced to invest through bank transfers, cryptocurrency, and cash, with funds totaling Rs 146 crore collected from them using three major methods: proceeds of crime (Rs 16 crore), bank account credits (Rs 10.52 crore), and TCX coins (Rs 120 crore).