The Supreme Court (SC) of India recently asked the Union government to clarify its stand on the legality of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Hearing a case involving 87,000 bitcoins and thousands of investors in a Multilevel Marketing (MLM) scam, a bench of the apex court asked this question to the Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati.
What is the Case?
As per the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Amit Bhardwaj was running a multilevel marketing (MLM) scheme called GainBitcoin until his arrest in March 2018. As per the fraud, GainBitcoin promised a 10% monthly return on bitcoin investments. At the time of his arrest, the scam money was estimated to be Rs. 2000 crore (approximately $260 million).
But at the current bitcoin price, ED estimates the scam money to be worth Rs. 20,000 crore (approximately $2.9 billion). ED has charged Bhardwaj with opening a slew of companies and diverting investors’ money to them.
The SC granted bail to Bhardwaj in April 2019 and restrained the ED from any coercive action against the accused. On Friday, the top court heard a petition from one of the indicted Ajay Bhardwaj, also the brother of Amit Bhardwaj, that the charges against him should be dismissed.
What Did the Supreme Court Say?
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who appeared for the ED, opposed the dismissal of charges against the accused and told the court that the case involved 87,000 bitcoins. She also said the accused was not cooperating with…
