Following the filing of a chargesheet against Amit Bhardwaj, Indian authorities have recovered 451.999 bitcoin.
The bitcoin is tied to Bhardwaj’s GainBitcoin Ponzi scheme, which collapsed in late 2017.
In addition to Bhardwaj, chargesheets have also been filed against nine accomplices.
Indian authorities believe thousands of GainBitcoin victims collectively lost around $523 million.
In addition to the recent seizure, authorities have gone after $5.9 million in property tied to the Ponzi scheme.
Police had suid that the accused still had at least 160 Bitcoins, 300,000 MCAP and 80,000 ethers in their possession.
MCAP was a shitcoin attached to GB21, Bhardwaj’s failed GainBitcoin reboot.
Today 451.999 bitcoin has a street value of $1.73 million USD.
Around the time GainBitcoin collapsed in late 2017, the value of the seized amount was approximately $3.26 million.
Amit Bhardwaj arrested in Thailand, fled Dubai after faking heart attack
Following a hunt that began in January, Gain Bitcoin’s Amit Bhardwaj has been arrested in Thailand.
How Bhardwaj evaded arrest has the trappings of a Jason Bourne movie.
After scamming people out of an estimated $300 million through Gain Bitcoin and GB21, Bhardwaj purportedly fled India on an African diplomatic passport.
How Bhardwaj (right) obtained the passport is unclear, but he used it to hide out in Dubai until late March.
As Indian authorities closed in Bhardwaj faked a heart attack, which somehow enabled him to escape Dubai to Thailand on March 30th.
Working with their Thai counterparts, Indian authorities were then able to apprehend Bhardwaj in Bangkok.
And if that’s not the foundation for a decent enough Bourne plot, News18 report Bhardwaj also has ties to Pakistan’s ISI intelligence agency.
Whether those links helped Bhardwaj evade arrest and/or gain an edge in his fraudulent business operations is unclear. Following his arrest, News18 claim Bhardwaj has been in touch with “ISI handlers”.
In the same report News18 goes on to claim Bhardwaj was part of an ISI plot to “bleed the Indian economy through cryptocurrency”.
Sounds a bit too conspiracy’ish to me but with the diplomatic passport Bhardwaj had access to, who knows.
Yesterday Bhardwaj was extradited to Pune, Maharashtra, where he will face multiple criminal charges.
