Sachin Vasant Shelar v. State of Maharashtra
(2021) 2 Bom CR (Cri) 103
In the High Court of Bombay
BA 391/2019
Before Justice Sandeep K Shinde
Decided on February 08, 2021

Relevancy of the Case: Bail application in a cryptocurrency scam

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66D)
• The Chit Funds Act, 1982 (Section 4)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 34, 419, 420, 406, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120B, 171)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 439)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• One of the accused help seminars on the benefits of investing in cryptocurrency in Delhi, Pune, and Nashik.
• In one such seminar that the complainant attended, the accused introduced himself as a Ministry of Finance representative. Further, he encouraged the complainant to invest in the Money Trade Coin (MTC).
• The accused also convinced the complainant that the coin value will increase within a period of time. Also, the coin would be listed on a public cryptocurrency exchange.
• To with the complainant’s trust, the accused showed communication with the Indian government about making the cryptocurrency legal. As a result, the complainant ended up investing ₹10 lakhs in MTC.
• The accused had two websites that were developed by the co-accussed. The co-accussed had software through which he could inflate or deflate the price of the cryptocurrency.
• During the investigation, the officers seized 84 bank accounts in this nexus.

Opinion of the Bench

• Investors’ money has been diverted to the companies established in countries like England and Poland.
• The bench did not rule out the possibility of the accused tampering with the prosecution evidence.

Final Decision

• The bench rejected the bail application.