The Delhi Police, in collaboration with Binance, have seized over 100,000 USDT linked to a sophisticated scam in India.

According to a report from The Hindu, the operation was conducted on October 15, 2024. The action by the police led to multiple arrests and exposed a fraudulent entity operating under the name “M/s Goldcoat Solar.”

Scammers operated a solar power scam

The scammers behind the scheme falsely claimed to have secured rights from the Government of India’s Ministry of Power to contribute to the country’s ambitious plan of expanding solar power capacity to 450 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.

This plan deceived numerous individuals into believing they were investing in a national energy initiative with promises of substantial returns.

The scammers promoted their fraudulent investment scheme through social media platforms. They even impersonated high-level government officials and used the names of high-ranking dignitaries to falsely endorse the scheme.

Victims were presented with fabricated evidence of earnings purportedly from previous investors, which helped the scammers gain trust.

Binance helped to recover funds converted to crypto 

As part of their bigger plan, the fraudsters funneled money deposited by victims through banks. Additionally, a portion of the funds were converted into cryptocurrency. This attempt to hide the money trail led to the involvement of Binance.

Jarek Jakubcek, Head of Law Enforcement Training at Binance, highlighted the importance of collaboration between crypto platforms and law enforcement agencies.

“Binance has been conducting sharing sessions with global law enforcement agencies, and this case highlights the positive outcomes of these collaborations,” Jakubcek stated.

This case is part of a larger trend of cryptocurrency-related fraud in India. Earlier in 2024, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), working with the FBI, dismantled a transnational cyber fraud network.

That operation led to the arrest of Vishnu Rathi in Mumbai, who allegedly defrauded a U.S. citizen of approximately ₹3.8 crore (around USD 453,953) by posing as a technical support agent.

The scammers often manipulate victims into transferring funds to crypto wallets controlled by them.

In a parallel development, Hong Kong authorities uncovered a fraud syndicate that used deepfake technology to orchestrate a $43 million cryptocurrency romance scam. The operation led to the arrest of 27 individuals.

The scheme operated out of a 4,000-square-foot industrial unit in Hung Hom since October last year. It used AI to swap the faces of scammers with those of attractive women during video calls. This deepfake technology allowed the male scammers to build trust with victims across Asia.

The scammers initiated contact with victims through social media, presenting themselves as highly desirable partners with impressive careers and academic backgrounds.

Once trust was established, they introduced cryptocurrency investment opportunities, In addition, they showed forged trading records to convince victims to invest funds.