India’s ED Finds Fake Tokens in HashPay Investment Scheme

India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the HashPay investment scheme used fictitious TCX and HashPay tokens, displayed artificial profits and conducted no genuine cryptocurrency trading. The agency identified ₹49.54 crore in alleged proceeds of crime and provisionally attached assets worth about ₹14.16 crore.

The platform displayed fabricated gains from the two tokens to make investors believe their funds were generating returns. HashPay promised daily returns of about 1%, while some plans offered as much as three times the original investment.

The scheme collected approximately ₹112.91 crore from investors, according to the ED. Investigators found that payments to earlier participants came from funds collected from newer members, creating the appearance of a profitable operation.

HashPay also offered referral rewards and other incentives to encourage members to recruit investors. The ED is examining how the money was collected, transferred and used.

Four suspects have been arrested and are in judicial custody. The agency said the profits displayed on the platform were not supported by actual crypto market activity. It is investigating the use of the fictitious tokens and account displays to attract investors.

The case follows other cryptocurrency-related fraud investigations in India. In 2023, the ED investigated the Morris Coin scheme in Kerala, which allegedly promised daily returns of 2% to 3% and generated about $54 crore in proceeds.

Reviewed and fact-checked by Alex Panasenko on November 12.