Mumbai Police Arrest 31-Year-Old Software Developer In ₹30 Crore GainBitcoin Crypto Scam

Mumbai: In a 2018 crypto currency fraud to the tune of Rs30 crore, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested Gaurav Harish Mehta, 31, a software developer from Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Mehta was produced before the Esplanade Court, which remanded him to police custody till January 24.

An FIR has been registered against him at MRA Marg police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The complainant in the case is an advocate, Ravindranath Prabhakar Patil, 48, who at the time of the incident was a director with the KPMG audit firm. He had alleged that in 2016-17, largescale cheating of investors was carried out by luring them in a multi-level marketing scheme, GainBitcoin, promising high returns.

Cases related to the scam were registered in 2018 at Pune’s Dattawadi and Nigdi police stations under the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act and the IT Act. In 2018, the Pune police appointed KPMG as the forensic auditor for technical analysis of suspicious crypto currency transactions. Patil and another expert, Pankaj Ghode, assisted in the analysis on behalf of the Global Blockchain Foundation. During the investigation, the police seized multiple crypto hardware wallets and other digital assets.

On October 12, 2018, the re-opening panchanama of the seized crypto wallets was carried out under Patil’s technical supervision, with a detailed forensic report. Later, for transparency, the Pune police appointed M/s Sarath & Associates, Fort in Mumbai, as the official forensic auditor. The firm’s directors R Lakshmi Rao, cyber expert Gaurav Mehta (the arrested accused), and Akshay Harish Mehta examined the case and submitted their reports to the police. During further investigation, the police found that Mehta had allegedly misused access to the seized crypto hardware wallets.

Based on Mehta’s own disclosure, investigators opened his TRONSCAN crypto wallet in the presence of independent panch witnesses and detected transactions amounting to $90,19,150.84. Mehta failed to provide satisfactory explanations about the amount, which police believe is linked to the GainBitcoin scam. 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 laptops, CPUs, hard disks, pen drives, mobile phones, routers, SIM readers, and other digital tools were seized. The police suspect these devices were used for illegal transfer and concealment of stolen crypto assets. Mehta allegedly used VPNs and blockchain-based obfuscation methods to hide his digital footprint and the diversion of funds. The police have stated that Mehta’s custodial interrogation is essential to probe the alleged diversion of nearly Rs30 crore from hardware wallets entrusted to him for forensic audit, and the suspected involvement of additional accomplices. Investigators also found multiple beneficiary names under the “Notes” section of Mehta’s TRONSCAN ledger, indicating possible profitsharing with other unidentified persons.

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