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ED freezes $4.8M in assets linked to Indian convicted in US in crypto fraud
Chirag Tomar, 31, was jailed in the US for stealing $20 million via Coinbase scam websites.
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Pranavi Sharma - Wed, 06, Aug 2025
- 02:12 EDT
- 1
Enforcement Directorate logo. / Wikipedia
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth US $4.8 million (₹42.8 crore) belonging to Chirag Tomar, an Indian national currently serving a five-year prison sentence in the United States for his role in a cryptocurrency fraud involving spoofed websites mimicking the Coinbase exchange.
The attached assets include 18 immovable properties located in Delhi, as well as funds in several bank accounts linked to Tomar, his family members, and entities associated with them. The attachment order was issued on Aug.5, 2025, by the ED’s headquarters in New Delhi.
Tomar, 31, was arrested and convicted in the US after stealing over $20 million from hundreds of victims through fraudulent websites that closely resembled the official Coinbase platform. He was sentenced by a US district court in Charlotte, North Carolina, in October 2024.
Following his sentencing, the ED launched an investigation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), based on news reports of his arrest and conviction.
According to the agency, “the trusted websites were spoofed in such a way by search engine optimisation that when the website would be searched, the spoofed website would appear at the top.” These spoofed versions were visually identical to legitimate sites, except for altered contact information.
“When the users would enter the login credentials, the spoofed website would show it wrong,” the agency said. “Therefore, the users would contact the number given in the spoofed website which would eventually connect them to the designated call centre managed by Chirag Tomar.”
Once the fraudsters had access to user accounts, they “quickly transferred the victim’s cryptocurrency holdings to e-wallets under their control,” the ED stated. The stolen cryptocurrency was then sold through peer-to-peer platforms and converted into Indian currency.
The ED’s findings suggest the funds were subsequently transferred to the bank accounts of Tomar and his family and used to purchase real estate assets in India.
Searches related to the case have already been conducted in Delhi, Jaipur, and Mumbai, according to officials. The agency said further investigation is ongoing.
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