The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted its first-ever search operations in the Leh-Ladakh region on Friday to probe a fake cryptocurrency investment scheme that defrauded 2,508 investors of over Rs 7 crore.

The agency also raided five premises in Haryana’s Sonipat linked to Leh residents A.R. Mir and Ajay Kumar Choudhary, who ran a cryptocurrency syndicate that promised to double investors’ money or return an assured 40 per cent if they agreed to a lock-in period of 10 months, sources in the ED said.

“It is alleged that hundreds of unsuspecting investors deposited money in fake currency but did not get any returns or currency back. The money-laundering case stems from several FIRs registered in Leh and in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” said an ED official.

The agency launched the search operation based on a complaint from Leh’s additional district magistrate. The complaint named A.R. Mir and Ajay Kumar Choudhary as the accused. A probe has revealed that the accused and his agents were running a fake cryptocurrency business under the name “Emollient Coin Limited” from an office in Leh.

“The preliminary probe has revealed that investors were lured into buying the fake cryptocurrency, Emollient Coin, through cash, bank transfers, or Bitcoin exchanges via a mobile app. The scam promised investors returns of up to 40 per cent after a 10-month lock-in period,” the ED official said.

Besides, investors were incentivised to recruit others, earning commissions of up to 7 per cent for direct referrals, creating a complex and deceptive financial web. The investigation revealed that 2,508 investors had invested a total of Rs 7.35 crore.

“The accused neither returned the assured money nor the cryptocurrency and instead started a real estate business and purchased land in Jammu with the investors’ money,” the agency official added.