A major crackdown on OneCoin in India has netted $2.9 million and exposed what Thailand's top financial regulator calls a "gang of criminals" running the operation.
Indian authorities arrested four senior OneCoin affiliates and seized Rs. 189 million in the bust. When police interrogated the detainees, they discovered this single group alone had collected Rs. 5.6 million from seventy-two affiliates. The remaining seized funds came from recruitment networks operating across the country.
DCP (Crime) Dilip Sawant said the operation ran by hosting investor seminars and promising huge returns. "There are several groups that have been operating across India by conducting seminars for investors and luring them with huge returns, but Navi Mumbai Police is the first to register an offence against the scamsters," he told investigators.
The arrested affiliates claimed OneCoin was created by a woman in Bulgaria. Police now plan to trace international banking transactions to map the full scope of the scheme.
OneCoin has built its empire on shell companies and a sprawling money laundering network. Investigators will track where the money from seized accounts leads next.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand—the country's largest financial regulator—has issued a direct warning against OneCoin. The bank's governor went further than a typical advisory, declaring that OneCoin is run by a "gang of criminals" and explicitly stated it is not a legal currency in Thailand.
The BOT's investigation found that OneCoin "may be used as a means to conduct fraudulent activity." In Thailand, the scheme is marketed locally as "a financial product that will provide high returns if new members (affiliates) are recruited"—the textbook structure of a Ponzi scheme.
BehindMLM identified OneCoin as a Ponzi scheme back in 2014, and the Bank of Thailand's assessment aligns with that conclusion. The regulator distinguishes between OneCoin and legitimate cryptocurrencies, which it remains supportive of. But it has no tolerance for schemes designed to enrich early investors at the expense of new recruits.
These actions in India and Thailand represent a tightening noose around OneCoin's operations in Asia. As authorities dig deeper into transaction histories and trace international flows, the full criminal architecture of the scheme continues to unravel.
🤖 Quick Answer
What was the scale of the OneCoin bust in India?Indian authorities arrested four senior OneCcoin affiliates and seized approximately $2.9 million (Rs. 189 million). Investigations revealed that this single group had collected Rs. 5.6 million from seventy-two affiliates, with additional funds recovered from recruitment networks operating throughout the country.
How did OneCoin operators attract investors in India?
OneCoin organizers conducted investor seminars across India, promising substantial financial returns to lure participants. They operated through multiple groups and recruitment networks, systematizing the collection of funds from victims who were deceived by unrealistic profit projections.
What characterization did financial regulators apply to OneCoin's leadership?
Thailand's top financial regulator described OneCoin's operational leadership as a "gang of criminals," indicating the organized and fraudulent nature of the cryptocurrency scheme's management structure and its systematic
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