Mumbai: Amit Lakhanpal, who allegedly posed as a finance ministry official and cheated investors of more than Rs 113 crore in 2017-18, has been arrested in the UAE based on a red notice issued at the request of Thane police.Enforcement Directorate (ED) shared Lakhanpal’s whereabouts with authorities, which led to his arrest on Sept 1, following which govt initiated his extradition process from the UAE and asked the agencies concerned to provide case details. Thane police are investigating a fraud case against him along with Taha Hafiz Qazi, Sachin Vasant Shelar, Komal Bhimrao Shirsath and others. Based on the case, ED is investigating them for alleged money laundering.Lakhanpal had allegedly launched a money trade coin (MTC) cryptocurrency and defrauded investors by promising govt recognition for the coin at seminars in star hotels. Investigators also found that a senior police officer then serving in Thane handled Lakhanpal’s office and clients.Earlier, ED had searched various premises associated with the accused and attached their properties. ED had alleged that Lakhanpal and his accomplices had created an unrecognised cryptocurrency, MTC, and fraudulently induced numerous investors to invest, causing losses of Rs 113 crore in 2017-2018. Lakhanpal and his accomplices had fled India after acquiring Antigua and Barbuda passports. He was allegedly living in Dubai under a fake identity, according to ED.It was alleged that various schemes and exchanges, including Coin Deposit Ratio, MTC Banque, MTCX India and Cryptozaniya, were later floated by Lakhanpal along with his associates. It alleged that MTC coin rates were manipulated and withdrawal and trading facilities stopped, causing investors to lose their principal and promised returns.Though Lakhanpal had left the country along with the close associates after registration of the police FIR, his wife remained in the country. She tried to leave the country thrice in 2023-24 but was intercepted at the airport on the basis of an alert issued by ED along with Thane police. Sources state that Lakhanpal procured an Antigua passport for his wife while staying there and sent it to India. Subsequently, last year she fled the country using the Antigua passport.Recently, ED seized Rs 1 crore after conducting searches at multiple locations in the Mumbai-Thane region in connection with the Money Trade Coin (MTC) cryptocurrency fraud case. ED had stated that multiple seminars were conducted in Delhi, Pune and Nashik by the accused wherein Lakhanpal falsely represented himself as a finance ministry official and promised substantial returns on investment in MTC coin.
