CBI arrests Darwin Labs co-founder Ayush Varshney in Rs 20,000 crore Gain Bitcoin scam case
New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has arrested Darwin Labs co-founder Ayush Varshney, one of the main accused in the Rs 20,000 crore Gain Bitcoin currency scam case, officials said on Wednesday.
The agency had issued a Look Out Circular against Varshney. His attempt to flee the country on Monday triggered an alert, leading to his detention at the Mumbai airport, they said. Varshney was formally arrested on Tuesday.
According to the CBI, Darwin Labs designed and developed the digital infrastructure which formed the operational backbone of the alleged fraudulent enterprise Gain Bitcoin.
During the investigation, the agency detected the alleged involvement of Darwin Labs Private Limited and its co-founders -- Varshney, Sahil Baghla and Nikunj Jain, the chief capital officer and founder at Vaomi AI -- in the design, development and deployment of a cryptocurrency token known as MCAP and its associated ERC-20 smart contract.
In a statement, it said that Darwin Labs allegedly played a central role in building the technological architecture underpinning the cryptocurrency ponzi scam perpetrated through a web of platforms, including the flagship site www.gainbitcoin.com.
It was allegedly masterminded by Amit Bhardwaj (now deceased) and his brother Ajay Bhardwaj, the officials said.
The company developed several key components, including the Bitcoin mining pool platform GBMiners.com, a Bitcoin payment gateway, the Coin Bank Bitcoin wallet and the Gain Bitcoin website used to interface with investors.
Launched in 2015, the Gain Bitcoin operation was camouflaged under the facade of Variabletech Pte. Ltd, officials said.
The scheme lured the investors offering extraordinary returns of 10 per cent per month in Bitcoin over an 18-month period, urging them to purchase the digital currency from external exchanges and deposit it with GainBitcoin through "cloud mining" contracts.
"The funds collected from investors were subsequently misappropriated. The case is being investigated under Sections 120B, 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.
"The model followed a multi-level marketing (MLM) structure, commonly associated with pyramid structured ponzi schemes, where payouts were dependent on bringing in new investors. In its early days, investors received payouts in Bitcoin, fuelling the illusion of a lucrative venture. However, as the influx of new capital dwindled by 2017, the charade began to crumble.
"In an attempt to cover up the losses, GainBitcoin unilaterally switched payouts to their alleged in-house cryptocurrency called MCAP, which had significantly less value than Bitcoin, further misleading investors," the CBI had said in a statement after the registration of the case.
The sheer scale and complexity of the scam resulted in the registration of multiple FIRs, from Jammu and Kashmir to Maharashtra and from Delhi to West Bengal.
The Supreme Court had handed over the investigation into the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), due to the expansive nature of the operation and the international ramifications it entailed.
The agency has launched a probe to unravel the full extent of the fraudulent activities, identify all implicated parties, and trace the misappropriated funds, including those that may have crossed borders.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
