Two persons have been arrested for allegedly duping people by promising huge returns through hedge fund and crypto-currency investments, the Delhi Police said. A case was registered by the Crime Branch in January over a complaint by a person named Vinod Kumar who told police that he was cheated of Rs 7.50 lakh while making an investment in "Rosneft hedge fund". A similar complaint of cheating was received by the cyber cell from Haryana resident Ravinder Pal Saini who had paid 27 bitcoins to the directors of Rosneft hedge fund to invest in the company for extraordinary returns, said Joint Commissioner (crime) Alok Kumar. "The arrested accused Ashish Malik, 33, and Sandeep Kaushik, 32, were recently caught by the Crime Branch after a thorough investigation, from their hideout in Sector 18 of Dwarka," he said. As per the RBI guidelines, the creation, trading or usage of virtual currencies, including bitcoin, as a medium of payment is not authorised by any bank or monetary authority. The accused were taking money in the form of bitcoins, cash and cheque by luring investors to invest in Rosneft Hedge Fund and thereafter they converted the amount into RHF Coin and RHF Gold without the consent of investors, the officer said. They also lured people for investing into newly launched virtual crypto-currency RHF Coin. The coins were initially launched at a rate of Rs 3.50 per coin with a promise of high profit.
Presently the coins are of no use, Kumar said. "The accused along with their associates including Sunil Singh Chauhan introduced themselves as owners of Rosneft Hedge Fund company to the complainants," Kumar said. As per Registrar of Companies, no company exists in the name of Rosneft Hedge Fund or RHF Coin and RHF Gold, he said. Further investigation is going on in the case to nab accomplices of the accused.
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