New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Ayush Varshney, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Darwin Labs Private Limited, in connection with the multi-thousand crore GainBitcoin cryptocurrency fraud case.

The case pertains to an alleged Ponzi scheme floated by Variabletech Pte. Ltd., in which investors were lured with promises of exceptionally high returns from cryptocurrency investments. The funds collected from investors were allegedly misappropriated.

The investigation is being conducted under Sections 120B, 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The CBI took up the case following a Supreme Court order dated December 13, 2023, which directed it to act as the common investigating agency for FIRs relating to similar GainBitcoin allegations. During the course of the probe, the role of Darwin Labs and its co-founders, including Varshney, Sahil Baghla, and Nikunj Jain, came to the fore.

The company is accused of designing, developing, and deploying the MCAP crypto token along with its ERC-20 smart contract, and creating the technological infrastructure for the fraudulent scheme, including the Bitcoin mining platform GBMiners.com, the Bitcoin payment gateway, Coin Bank wallet, and the GainBitcoin investor-facing portal.

Varshney had been absconding for some time, prompting the issuance of a Look Out Circular (LOC) against him. On March 9, 2026, he was intercepted by immigration authorities in Mumbai while attempting to leave India and handed over to the CBI. He was formally arrested the next day.

The CBI has reaffirmed its commitment to conducting a comprehensive and impartial investigation into the GainBitcoin scam. Authorities said they are determined to bring all those involved to justice.

The investigation is continuing, with further arrests and developments expected as the probe deepens into the network behind one of India’s largest cryptocurrency frauds to date.

–IANS

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