A single WhatsApp message saying, “Hello… this is Divya speaking,” allegedly triggered one of India’s biggest cryptocurrency investment frauds, leaving a senior chartered accountant in Gwalior poorer by more than Rs 21 crore after a seven-month scam.
Ashok Vijayvargiya (70), Chief Returning Officer of the Madhya Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries, allegedly lost Rs 21,05,92,000 between December 2025 and July 2026 after being lured into investing in USDT (Tether) through what investigators believe was a fake online trading platform. The portal ultimately displayed fictitious profits exceeding Rs 33 crore before blocking withdrawals.
According to the complaint, Vijayvargiya was first contacted in December 2025 by a woman identifying herself as “Divya”, who claimed to be an investment adviser. She promoted USDT, a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar, as a high-return investment. The conversation later shifted to multiple WhatsApp numbers, including one carrying a US country code, which police are verifying to determine whether it was a genuine overseas number or a virtual one.
Investigators said the fraudsters helped Vijayvargiya create an account on a trading portal and encouraged him to begin with small investments. On December 25, he transferred Rs 10,000 four times through UPI, followed by another investment of about Rs 1 lakh through a friend’s UPI account. The platform showed steady profits.
The fraudsters then employed a tactic commonly seen in investment scams. On January 7, they transferred Rs 1.88 lakh into Vijayvargiya’s HDFC Bank account as a genuine payout. The successful withdrawal convinced him that the platform was legitimate, prompting him to invest substantially larger amounts, including a Rs 15 lakh RTGS transfer. Police said business associates have indicated that more than 35 acquaintances may also have invested through the platform on Vijayvargiya’s advice.
As his investments increased, the portal displayed growing returns, eventually showing profits of around Rs 33.25 crore. However, when he attempted to withdraw the money, the request was blocked. The fraudsters allegedly demanded Rs 10.84 crore as “income tax” before releasing the funds. Every subsequent withdrawal attempt generated fresh demands, including another Rs 1 crore as a “risk margin”. It was only then that Vijayvargiya realised the displayed profits were allegedly fictitious.
Investigators say the case stands out for the complexity of the money trail. According to the Gwalior State Cyber Cell, the stolen funds were routed through a four-layer banking network involving more than 20,000 transactions across multiple states, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
The cyber team has identified 77 first-layer bank accounts that directly received the victim’s money. The funds were subsequently dispersed through 493 second-layer accounts, around 12,700 third-layer accounts and approximately 7,500 fourth-layer transactions before allegedly being withdrawn, converted into cryptocurrency, or spent through ATMs, shopping vouchers and online payments.
State Cyber Cell DSP Sanjeev Nayan Sharma said around Rs 2 crore has been frozen so far, while the remaining funds were rapidly moved before authorities could intervene. Investigators suspect many of the accounts belong to money mules, shell companies and digital-wallet operators linked to organised cybercrime networks rather than the masterminds themselves.
Vijayvargiya has submitted WhatsApp chats, bank statements and transaction records to investigators. A case has been registered against unidentified accused under Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act.
Police are now tracing the WhatsApp numbers, IP addresses and the suspected fake trading portal to establish the ultimate destination of the stolen Rs 21 crore.
