₹1200 crore?

livemint.com:

Over 900 investors have been allegedly cheated to the tune of ₹1200 crore through a cryptocurrency scam, that offered staggering returns of up to 3% a day on an investment of ₹15,000 made to purchase Morris Coin, a fake cryptocurrency.

The accused, 31-year-old Nishad K who is a resident of Kerala, and his partners, allegedly collected deposits from investors under the guise of an Initial Coin Offer (ICO) for the launch of Morris Coin cryptocurrency.

An initial coin offering (ICO) is the crypto industry's equivalent of an initial public offering (IPO). A company seeking to raise money to create a new coin, app, or service can launch an ICO as a way to raise funds. Interested investors can buy into an initial coin offering to receive a new cryptocurrency token issued by the company.

Investors lured via social media

Unsuspecting investors were lured to invest in the attractive schemes through WhatsApp messages, where they were offered ₹270 every day for 300 days and 15 Morris Coin cryptocurrency worth ₹1,500 each, on investing ₹15,000 through agents in the crypto wallets provided by the promoters.

The agents were reportedly given 10-30% of the commission for making people invest in Morris Coin.

Celebrities roped in for promotions

The accused, Nishad, executed the plan meticulously, by conducting several promotional events in the presence of celebrities, introducing investors to flashy websites, and coming out on YouTube urging people to invest as much as possible.

Nishad promised investors that the cryptocurrency was to be listed on Franc exchange, a fake crypto exchange based out of Coimbatore, after which, the value of the tokens would increase multifold, however, the coins were never listed.

Investors' funds transferred