India's Enforcement Directorate Seizes ₹8.54 crore Assets from Bitcoin Scam Operator Hemant Ishwar Sharma

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Dehradun has provisionally attached assets worth ₹8.54 crore (about US$900,000) belonging to Hemant Ishwar Sharma. Sharma is accused of running BTCFUND.IS, an Iceland‑registered website that lured Indian investors into a fraudulent Bitcoin investment scheme between 2014 and 2018. The scam is alleged to have defrauded investors of roughly ₹200 crore, equivalent to about 856 BTC.

Investigators traced the proceeds through blockchain analysis and say the funds were laundered via cryptocurrency exchanges to purchase immovable property, luxury vehicles and a bungalow in Dehradun. Sharma is under arrest in Siddhowala Prison, and the ED has so far attached assets totaling about ₹13.10 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The case underscores growing regulatory scrutiny of unregistered crypto platforms in India.