The Central Crime Branch (CCB) on Wednesday arrested the CEO and co-founder of Unocoin Technologies, Sathvik Vishwanath, a day after they arrested the company’s Chief Financial and Compliance Officer Harish B.V.
According to the police, the company had installed the first cryptocurrency kiosk, or ATM, in a mall on Old Airport Road without taking the necessary permissions from the State government.
Unocoin came under the CCB’s radar while they were investigating a complaint by a Bengaluru-based businessman who claimed to have been conned by Pramod Kullar, a representative of a financial firm. The businessman transferred ₹3 lakh to Pramod who told him that he would invest the money in cryptocurrency, which would yield a quick profit. However, a few days later, Pramod disappeared.
Though Pramod was not linked to Unocoin, the investigation led the police to the company. According to investigators, the founders had not obtained permission to run financial transactions. “They had also not given any written specification to their investors about the transaction details,” said the police.
