The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint before the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Puducherry in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency investment fraud involving M/s Pan India Crypto Currency, popularly known as Hashpe, the agency's Chennai Zonal Office-II said in a statement on Tuesday (November 3).

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

Alongside the complaint, the ED said it has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 14.16 crore (yaani about 14 crore rupees) in the case. The attached assets include immovable properties in Tamil Nadu, Haryana and New Delhi, besides BMW cars and balances held in bank accounts.

Rs 112.91 croreAlleged amount collected from investors, per ED
Rs 49.54 croreIdentified as proceeds of crime, per ED
Rs 14.16 croreAssets provisionally attached

What the ED alleges Hashpe did

According to the ED, the alleged scheme collected approximately Rs 112.91 crore from investors by promising unusually high returns, luxury cars, foreign tours and lucrative referral commissions. It allegedly operated through the website hashpe.io and a multi-level marketing network managed by Imran Basha, Hitesh Kumar, Syed Usman alias Babu, Dhamodharan and their associates.

The platform offered fictitious cryptocurrency tokens, including TCX and Hashpe, while displaying profits without undertaking genuine trading activities, the agency alleged. The scheme eventually collapsed after withdrawals were blocked and the investment platform was disabled, leaving numerous investors facing substantial losses; of the money allegedly mobilised, only a portion was returned to investors.

The remaining funds were routed through bank accounts belonging to M/s HIFY Circle, associated individuals and entities, and cryptocurrency wallets, the ED said. It alleged that substantial amounts were diverted towards personal expenditure, repayment of loans, commissions, promotional activities and the acquisition of assets, and that it has identified approximately Rs 49.54 crore as proceeds of crime.

From a Puducherry FIR to a courtroom

The money-laundering investigation originated from an FIR registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station in Puducherry under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. The ED had earlier conducted searches at premises linked to Hashpe and its promoters on September 1, 2026, and arrested four men during September — Imran Basha and Hitesh Kumar first, followed by Syed Usman alias Babu and Dhamodharan Balachandran — as reported at the time.

Source: Mirror Now

A prosecution complaint is the step that formally takes a PMLA case before the court; the provisional attachment will separately need confirmation under the Act. All of the ED's claims in this case are allegations at this stage and have not been established by a court.