Crypto scam: ED seizes Rs 1-cr cash during raids in Leh, other places

An amount of Rs 1 crore and "incriminating" documents were seized following raids against operators of a "fake" cryptocurrency investment company that cheated people in Ladakh and some other places, the Enforcement Directorate said Sunday.

The searches were undertaken on August 2 in Leh, Jammu and Sonipat in Haryana under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Officials had said this was the first time that the federal anti-money laundering agency carried out searches in Ladakh.

The probe pertains to cheating of innocent people, including people of Leh, by assuring them of doubling their investment in a short period of 10 months through investment in fake cryptocurrency named Emollient Coin, the agency said in a statement.

This "fake" cryptocurrency, as per the ED, was represented and promoted by Naresh Gulia of Sonipat through a company named Emollient Coin Limited that was incorporated in September, 2017 in the United Kingdom.

The business was promoted a