A senior chartered accountant in Gwalior has lost ₹21.06 crore, or about $2.2 million, in what authorities describe as a fake cryptocurrency investment scheme that began with contact on social media. Investigators in Madhya Pradesh have opened a case and are trying to trace the digital and banking trail linked to the alleged fraud.
How the alleged fraud unfolded
According to the source report, the victim was 70-year-old Ashok Vijayvargiya, a senior chartered accountant who also serves as the Chief Returning Officer of the Madhya Pradesh Chamber of Commerce. Fraudsters are said to have first approached him through social media and gradually built trust.
The alleged scheme followed a familiar pattern: the operators presented what appeared to be successful early crypto trades and showed returns that encouraged further deposits. Those initial gains, however, were reportedly fabricated. As confidence grew, Vijayvargiya was allegedly pushed to invest increasing sums into the platform.
Fake profits and blocked withdrawals
The fraud came into focus when Vijayvargiya tried to withdraw money. At that point, the people behind the platform allegedly began giving reasons for why the funds could not be released. The profits displayed on the trading interface were not real, according to the report.
The case highlights a tactic often seen in online investment scams, where victims are shown convincing on-screen balances or paper gains that do not correspond to real assets. In this instance, the social-media contact, staged returns and later refusal to honor withdrawals formed the core of the alleged deception.
Cyber police tracing accounts and phone numbers
Madhya Pradesh’s State Cyber Cell has registered a case against unidentified suspects. The investigation is currently focused on technical tracing before any further action is taken.
Authorities are examining 20 bank accounts, three WhatsApp numbers and the URL tied to the purported trading portal. The aim is to map the network used in the scheme and try to identify or freeze funds connected to it. The suspects had not been publicly identified in the source report.
Wider warning from authorities
Police have also issued a broader warning alongside the case. The source report said officials urged people to verify unsolicited cryptocurrency-related offers, stay away from unfamiliar Telegram or WhatsApp groups, and report suspected fraud quickly.
The report framed the case as part of a wider pattern in which even financially literate individuals are targeted through a repeated playbook: contact through social media, trust-building through apparent profits, and eventual losses once larger transfers have been made. The Gwalior case stands out for its scale, but the underlying method described by investigators is not new.
Source: Cryptopolitan