India Bitconnect Head Arrested in Delhi
The sad and at times infuriating case of Bitconnect continues to unravel around the world. This week, accused mastermind of the group in Asia, Divyesh Darji, was arrested in connection with his role in the many millions of dollars investment scam.
Local media report Mr. Darji’s outfit was registered in the United Kingdom but essentially operated from the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai. Perhaps it is a fitting center for a Bitconnect operation. The tallest structure in the world since its crowning in 2010, it mirrors proponents of the famed project and now widely recognized scam, big. Everything about Bitconnect was big: big promises, big returns, big gains, big conferences, and, alas, a very big fall.
India Bitconnect Head Arrested
Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai
In seemingly desperate times, human psychology might tend to succumb more readily to a kind of credulity not normally envisaged. That well-worn skepticism, when it comes to too good to be true claims, dulls when arguably needed most. Theoretically, that’s what happened to many Indian investors. In late 2016, its government demonetized all ₹500 and ₹1000 notes of the Mahatma Gandhi series. It would be the US equivalent of banning $10 and $20 bills.
It was an effort to strangle the growing Indian black market, which the government claimed was funding illicit activity and terrorism. But the rollout was sudden, immediate, and typically hamfisted. Cash shortages exacerbated, and an already limping along economy hiccuped mightily. At Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement, stock indices threatened double digit drops, the aforementioned shortages, and bank runs characterized very real national panic.