Gujarat Bitcoin scam worth Rs 5,000 crore "linked" with BJP leaders: Need for Supreme Court monitored probe

By Shaktisinh Gohil*

BJP hit a jackpot in the form of demonetisation, which it used as an alibi to convert black money into white in Gujarat. Even as party scrambles for answers of how the Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank (ADCB), whose director is BJP president Amit Shah, received old currency worth Rs 745.58 crore in just five days, and how Rs 3118.51 crore was deposited in 11 district cooperative banks linked with Gujarat BJP leaders, a new mega Bitcoin scam, worth more than Rs 5,000 crore has been unraveled.
The finger of suspicion of this massive scam of illegal cryptocurrency directly points to several top BJP leaders and a “mastermind" -- absconding Gujarat BJP leader and ex- MLA Nalin Kotadiya. The modus operandi of this scam is multilayered and is like a Pandora’s box – whereby illegal Hawala transactions, kidnappings, extortion of crypto currency using CBI/police/government authorities at the behest of top BJP leaders in Gujarat is a norm.
The menacing maze of this mega Bitcoin scam has been estimated by the Gujarat CID at more than Rs 50,00 crore, though many vernacular news reports and independent blogs on internet place the value at Rs 88,000 crore.

Factual matrix

1. The mega Bitcoin scam began from a complaint made by one Shailesh Bhatt to Gujarat’s minister of state (MoS) for home Pradeepsinh Jadeja, who himself has deep links with absconding BJP ex-MLA Kotadia. Gujarat’s Amreli district police reportedly extorted 200 Bitcoins (Rs 10 crore) and demanded Rs 32 crore in cash from Bhatt.
2. Investigation agencies found that the CCTV footage of Amreli district police involved in extortion is true, leading to the arrest of Amreli police superintendent of police Jagdish Patel and police inspector Anant Patel, along with an accomplice PI and 10 constables. CID then discovered that the mastermind of this mega Bitcoin scam is no other than BJP's Kotadiya.
3. Even as the police/CID search the whereabouts of the mastermind, Kotadiya is absconding, but in a video footage appears where he is found saying that, if he is arrested, he would reveal damning evidence exposing top BJP leaders in the state -- those who were converting black money into white during demonetisation.
4. CID crime, Gujarat, is trying to pressurize the witnesses of this case for political reasons. Surprisingly, a second complaint filed by CID crime says that the main accused is Shailesh Bhatt, which was not the case earlier. Instead of making him the complainant in the first case, CID, at the behest of MoS (home), made police "the complainant".
5. Shockingly, Shailesh Bhatt kidnapped one Piyush Savalia, who was associated with Bitconnect, on January 30, and released the latter two days later. Bhatt then kidnapped Dhaval Mavani, who was able to transfer 2,256 Bitcoins worth Rs 131 crore to Bhatt, securing his release. Bhatt secured another Rs 10 crore worth of Bitcoins before being stung by Amreli police.
6. It is intriguing that the Modi government sent in CBI/ED/government authorities to hound Gujarat Congress MLAs as well Karnataka Congress candidates during state polls when the electoral code of conduct was on, but has not bothered to investigate this mega Bitcoin scam, whose mastermind is a BJP leader. Kotadiya himself has made serious allegations of how top BJP leaders are linked with this entire saga of illicit money transactions.

Questions:

1. At whose behest did the Amreli police extort Bitcoins and other cash through middlemen from investors? Why did the investigation agencies not make Shailesh Bhatt a complainant in the FIR that was filed in the first case?
2. The complainant himself stated in his statement that CBI inspector Sunil Nair extorted Rs 5 crore from him to not initiate any action. Why has Sunil Nair has not been made an accused but has been transferred from Gujarat to the North-East?
3. Who are the ‘top BJP leaders’ against whom Kotadiya has damning evidence?
4. Why are the CBI/ED/Central authorities not investigating this mega Bitcoin scam? Who are they sheltering? What is the cover-up?
5. Was Modi’s demonetisation used to cover in orer to convert black money into white by BJP leaders in Gujarat, and dupe investors through multiple extortion of illicit money?
6. If Modi government can send CBI/ED to investigate Congress leaders in Karnataka, before and during elections, what prevents it from investigating its own?
There should be an impartial Supreme Court-monitored judicial invetigation in this maze of mega Bitcoin scam, so that the truth comes out.
---
*National spokesperson, All-India Congress Committee

Comments

Fungus Humungous said…

Please don't insult bjp leaders with 5000 crore scams 😝 modiji s aim is to historic n transformative in everything. If at all kindly link bjp leaders with billions or trillion dollars scams

July 05, 2018

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Pairing not with law but with perpetrators: Pavlovian response to lynchings in India

By Vikash Narain Rai* Lynch-law owes its name to James Lynch, the legendary Warden of Galway, Ireland, who tried, condemned and executed his own son in 1493 for defrauding and killing strangers. But, today, what kind of a person will justify the lynching for any reason whatsoever? Will perhaps resemble the proverbial ‘wrong man to meet at wrong road at night!’

Dowry over duty: How material greed shattered a seven-year bond

By Archana Kumar* This account does not seek to expose names or tarnish identities. Its purpose is not to cast blame, but to articulate—with dignity—the silent suffering of a woman who lived her life anchored in love, trust, and duty, only to be ultimately abandoned.

Search This Blog