ED attaches assets worth over Rs 36 crore in Morris Coin fraud case

The ED said the attached properties included balances in several bank accounts of Nishad and his companies, land owned by a close associate of Nishad and immovable property equivalent to crypto currencies purchased by a close associate from the proceeds of the crime. .

The ED started the investigation based on the FIR registered by the Kerala Police. Kerala Police has registered several FIRs in different districts like Malappuram, Kannur and others. According to the FIR, more than 900 investors were duped 1200 crores.

So far, investigation has revealed that Nishad K through his various companies such as Long Rich Global, Long Rich Technologies and Morris Trading Solutions collected deposits from investors under the guise of Initial Coin Offering for the launch of Morris Coin cryptocurrency .

Investors were impressed by conducting promotional events in the presence of celebrities, introducing investors to attractive websites by provision of e-wallets to each investor through web-based applications.

“The amount deposited in this way is cheating. Investors were duped through various companies run by him and his associates.”

“The deposits taken from the general public were illegal and without statutory permission from any regulatory agencies. It was a Ponzi scheme and investors were misled with the promise of very high returns,” the statement said.

The money received was used for the purchase of real estate, for the purchase of various other cryptocurrencies, for the purchase of luxury cars and for spending in luxury hotels and resorts.

“In this regard, cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (5.92387265), BTC (0.08267646), BNB (5.51232875), WiFI (0.023062), VET (4284.4), ADA (226.479601), USDT (35.88576551) are totally worth INR 25 82,794 were found and all the above cryptocurrencies, purchased with proceeds of crime, were converted into INR and attached by the Enforcement Directorate,” it added.

A search operation was conducted at 11 premises located in different states like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi, which resulted in identification of details of several crores of immovable and other properties. The ED said the premises include residential and office premises of entities linked to Nishad and his companies.