Insights

India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has executed its inaugural raid in the Leh Ladakh region to investigate fraudulent cryptocurrency activities under the Public Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The operation targeted six locations across Leh in Ladakh, Jammu in J-K, and Sonipat in Haryana, focusing on A. R. Mir and his associates. Allegations suggest thousands of investors were defrauded through a fake cryptocurrency named “Emollient Coin,” with no currency or returns provided. An FIR from March 2020 was filed against A. R. Mir and Ajay Kumar Choudhary, accusing them of running the fraudulent scheme from their Leh office near SNM Hospital. The office has been sealed, and complaints from various regions have been noted. Emollient Coin Ltd. was established in September 2017 in London, and promoted in India by Naresh Gullia and Channi Singh. The investigation revealed Mir and Choudhary used funds from the scam to invest in real estate in Jammu.