CBI arrests Darwin Labs co-founder Ayush Varshney in GainBitcoin cryptocurrency scam

Mumbai: In a major swoop, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Ayush Varshney, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Darwin Labs Private Limited, in connection with the GainBitcoin cryptocurrency fraud case.

On 9 March, Varshney was intercepted by Immigration authorities at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai — based on a Lookout Circular issued against him while attempting to leave India and was subsequently handed over to the CBI.

He was apprehended based on a Lookout Circular issued against him.

On 10 March, the CBI formally arrested him.

The case pertains to the alleged GainBitcoin Ponzi scheme floated by Variabletech Pte. Ltd., wherein investors were induced to invest in a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme on the promise of high returns.

The funds collected from investors were subsequently misappropriated.

The case is being investigated under Sections 120B, 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, CBI officials said on Wednesday.

The investigation is being conducted by the CBI pursuant to the order dated 13 December 2023 of the Supreme Court whereby FIRs relating to similar allegations in the GainBitcoin fraud were directed to be investigated by the CBI as a common investigating agency.

During the investigation, the role of Darwin Labs Private Limited and its co-founders, including accused Ayush Varshney, Sahil Baghla and Nikunj Jain, Chief Capital Officer/Founder in Vaomi AI, emerged in relation to the design, development and deployment of the crypto token known as MCAP and the corresponding ERC-20 smart contract.

Darwin Labs Private Limited was instrumental in developing the entire technological infrastructure of the fraudulent scheme, including the Bitcoin mining pool platform GBMiners.com, Bitcoin Payment Gateway, Coin Bank Bitcoin wallet and the GainBitcoin investor-facing website.