Web Of Lies

Imagine having Rs 1.27 crore in a cryptocurrency exchange, but not being able to withdraw it. Well, that’s exactly what has happened with a resident of Leh, who owns a family-diversified business and did not want to be named, and who is ostensibly a victim of a crypto fraud. He got lured into investing a hefty amount in a fake cryptocurrency exchange app through a “friend” (read Layers of Entrapment to know the details of his scary tale). The case study throws up two main issues of how crypto frauds are being run in India—through fake websites, not necessarily of Indian origin, and entrapment, through individuals and/or masked organisations and their agents. According to the 2022 Crypto Crime Report by Chainalysis, a Singapore-based Blockchain data platform, cryptocurrency-based crime hit a new all-time high in 2021, with illicit addresses receiving $14 billion...