HPZ Token Fraud: ED Freezes Assets Worth Rs 106 Crore of Chinese Firms in India and Dubai
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New Delhi, Nov 28 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced on Thursday that it has frozen both movable and immovable assets located in India and Dubai, totaling Rs. 106.20 crore. These assets belong to individuals connected to Chinese shell companies implicated in defrauding investors of hundreds of crores in the HPZ Token scam.
According to the ED's investigations, the accused promised investors a return of Rs 4,000 per day for three months in exchange for an investment of Rs 57,000.
The perpetrators lured investors by claiming they could double their investments through the HPZ Token app, as well as through various online gaming and betting platforms.
With this recent asset freeze, the total amount of frozen proceeds of crime linked to this case has now reached Rs 603.40 crore, as reported by the ED.
The investigation was initiated by the ED's Dimapur Sub-Zonal Office, following a FIR lodged by the Cyber Crime Police Station in Kohima (Nagaland), under several sections of the IPC, 1860 and the Information Technology Act, 2000, related to the fraudulent activities targeting unsuspecting investors.
Investors were misled with promises of extraordinary returns on investments aimed at Bitcoin mining and other Cryptocurrencies, facilitated through the HPZ Token app.
Initially, the fraudsters provided attractive returns to build trust and simultaneously made enticing offers for additional investments, according to the ED.
This strategy encouraged further investments from unsuspecting individuals.
Eventually, the funds collected were misappropriated, and the app/website became unreachable, as stated by the ED.
The current asset attachment is a continuation of previous actions, during which the ED, Dimapur, executed searches at 44 locations across the country and froze bank accounts holding Rs 176.67 crore from shell entities in various banks and virtual accounts, along with an attachment of Rs 320.53 crore.
