Ahmedabad: Bitcoin scammer sets up fake website for second con

AHMEDABAD: As cops hunt for Divyesh Darji, the absconding mastermind of the multi-crore Bitcoin scam, investigations have revealed that he had set up another con by creating a website for Regalcoin, the most sought after cryptocurrency after Bitcoin.
Darji, a resident of Adajan in Surat, is facing trial in the Rs 22,000 crore Bitcoin scam.
His name had also cropped up in the Rs 1,000 crore scam relating to another cryptocurrency instrument called ‘Dekado Coin’.Darji, the promoter of BitConnect, obtained bail from the Gujarat high court a month ago and has been on the run since, said a CID official.
After Bitcoin rates plummeted and he sensed that his investors will approach police, Darji in September 2017 hit upon the Regalcoin plan. With the fake website, he got thousands of people across India to invest in this virtual currency. Darji promised them returns higher than what Bitcoins yield.
Investigators said that Darji had told potential investors that the company was registered in London. “The operations of the real Regalcoin are run from Hong Kong,” said detective inspector M R Godhania, the investigating officer of the economic offences wing of the CID (crime).
Darji lured investors offering short-term returns of 5,000% — promising to turn $2 to $100 quickly. “He had told his investors that they needed to stay invested for just 99 days,” the CID official said.
“He also promised to pay them returns on their principal in line with profits on robotic trading, besides 1% to 1.6% referral bonuses every 11 days.”
Darji had given IDs to investors of Regalcoin who could see their names on the website and assumed that their transactions were genuine
“Ultimately, one day the investors could not access their accounts and realized that they had been fooled by Darji,” the CID official said. The scam surfaced after a Surat resident, Vishal Savalia, approached the CID alleging that he had lost Rs 17.50 lakh in the scam. Two other persons, Rajesh Mania and Kirit Parmar, had invested Rs 10.50 lakh and Rs 17.50 lakh. CID officials believe that the scam value may reach crores as more people lodge complaints.