The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested Gaurav Harish Mehta, 31, a software developer from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, in connection with a 2018 cryptocurrency fraud worth Rs 30 crore. Mehta was produced before the Esplanade Court, which remanded him to police custody until January 24.
An FIR has been registered against him at MRA Marg police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The complainant, Ravindranath Prabhakar Patil (48), an advocate and former KPMG director, alleged that in 2016-17, investors were lured into a multi-level marketing scheme called GainBitcoin, promising high returns.
Cases related to the scam were originally registered in 2018 at Pune’s Dattawadi and Nigdi police stations under the Indian Penal Code, the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, and the IT Act. At that time, KPMG was appointed as a forensic auditor to analyze suspicious cryptocurrency transactions, assisted by Patil and expert Pankaj Ghode on behalf of the Global Blockchain Foundation.
During the investigation, police seized multiple crypto hardware wallets and other digital assets. A re-opening of the seized wallets was conducted on October 12, 2018, under Patil’s supervision, followed by a forensic audit by M/s Sarath & Associates, Fort, Mumbai, whose directors included R. Lakshmi Rao, Gaurav Mehta, and Akshay Harish Mehta. The reports indicated that Mehta allegedly misused his access to the seized crypto wallets.
Police said that Mehta’s TRONSCAN crypto wallet contained transactions totaling $9,019,150.84, for which he failed to provide satisfactory explanations. Raids were conducted at Mehta’s Fort office, his residence and workplace in Raipur, as well as the homes of co-accused Lakshmi Rao (Thane) and Police Constable Santosh Jadhav (Pune).
Several digital devices, including laptops, CPUs, hard disks, pen drives, mobile phones, routers, and SIM readers, were seized. Authorities allege these were used to transfer and conceal stolen crypto assets. Mehta reportedly used VPNs and blockchain-based obfuscation to hide his digital footprint and divert funds. Investigators also found multiple beneficiary names in Mehta’s TRONSCAN ledger, suggesting profit-sharing with unidentified accomplices.
Police have stated that Mehta’s custodial interrogation is critical to uncover the alleged diversion of nearly Rs 30 crore from hardware wallets entrusted to him for forensic audit and to identify additional accomplices involved in the GainBitcoin scam.
