New Delhi: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested one of the alleged masterminds in connection with its probe into the Rs 1,000-crore GainBitcoin cryptocurrency scam. The accused, identified as Ayush Varshney, was the co-founder and chief technology officer of Darwin Labs Private Limited.Varshney, who was absconding, was intercepted by immigration authorities at Mumbai airport on March 9 while attempting to flee the country. Following his interception based on a look-out circular (LOC), he was handed over to CBI and placed under arrest on March 10.The investigation, which CBI took over following a Supreme Court mandate on Dec 13, 2023, centres on a massive Ponzi scheme operated by Variabletech Pte Ltd. The scheme allegedly induced thousands of victims to invest in a fraudulent cryptocurrency platform under the guise of guaranteed high returns, only for those funds to be systematically misappropriated.The legal proceedings against Varshney and other conspirators are being conducted under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust), and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Section 66 of the Information Technology Act.According to the CBI, Darwin Labs Private Limited played a pivotal role in providing the technological backbone for the entire fraudulent enterprise. Varshney, along with co-founders Sahil and Nikunj, the chief capital office of Vaomi AI, is accused of designing and deploying the “MCAP” token and its associated ERC-20 smart contract.Furthermore, the agency alleges that Darwin Labs was responsible for developing the GBMinerscom mining pool, the Bitcoin Payment Gateway, the Coin Bank Bitcoin wallet, and the primary investor-facing website used to lure those who they cheated.The arrest, CBI said, marked a significant step in its effort to consolidate various FIRs related to the GainBitcoin fraud into a single, comprehensive investigation. The agency that the probe remains active as it continues to trace the misappropriated assets and examine the roles of other associates involved in the technological and financial architecture of the scam.
