2 Arrested in Delhi For Cryptocurrency & Hedge Fund Fraud

Ashish Malik, 33, and Sandeep Kaushik, 32 were arrested yesterday by the Cyber Cell of the Crime Branch in Delhi, for tricking people by promising them huge returns from their hedge fund and cryptocurrency investments.

With the help of other associates, they operated hedge fund named "Rosneft Hedge Fund" and even launched two virtual currencies named "RHF Coin" and "RHF Gold". They claimed that they were associated with Rosneft, Russia's top petroleum company.

The Delhi police registered a case based on a complaint received in the month of January by a resident who claimed he was cheated for Rs 7.50 lakhs in his investment in Rosneft hedge fund.

A Haryana resident also filed a similar complaint, where he said that he had given 27 bitcoins to the "directors" of Rosneft hedge fund for extraordinary returns.

As per the RBI guidelines, the creation, trading or usage of virtual currencies, including bitcoin, as a medium of payment is not authorized by any bank or monetary authority.

The accused took money from the investors in the form of cash, cheque, and bitcoins and converted the amount into RHF Coin and RHF Gold without their consent. The launched these currencies at Rs 3.50 per coin and promised high returns.

As per Registrar of Companies, no company exists in the name of Rosneft Hedge Fund or RHF Coin and RHF Gold, said the Joint Commissioner Alok Kumar to PTI.

After working on the case for 4 months, the accused were arrested from their hideout in Dwarka sector 18.