Bombay High Court Grants Bail to Simpy Bharadwaj in Rs 6,606 Crore Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Case
The Bombay High Court last week granted bail to Simpy Bharadwaj, who had been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with India’s largest Bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme, worth ₹6,606 crore. Bharadwaj, booked under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), was released on bail due to her status as a mother to a six-year-old child and the prolonged nature of her incarceration.
Justice Manish Pitale, presiding over the single-judge bench, observed that Bharadwaj was entitled to the benefit of the proviso under Section 45(1) of the PMLA, which allows for special consideration for women. The court also highlighted the fact that Bharadwaj had already spent 10 months in custody, and the trial’s commencement was not expected in the near future, thus extending her detention would serve no purpose.
“This Court finds no reason why the applicant should be denied the benefit of the exception carved out in the proviso for special treatment. In any case, it is not denied that the applicant is a mother to a six-year-old child, who obviously needs her care and company,” Justice Pitale stated in the order dated October 11. Given these considerations, the court granted Bharadwaj bail on a surety of ₹50,000.
Case Background:
Simpy Bharadwaj is the wife of Amit Bharadwaj, founder of GainBitcoin.com, who allegedly orchestrated a Ponzi scheme that promised investors a 10% return on every Bitcoin invested for 18 months. The ED accused Amit Bharadwaj and others of collecting 80,000 Bitcoins, valued at ₹6,606 crore in 2017, without ever returning any profits to the investors, thus committing money laundering.
The ED initially registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in 2018, but Simpy Bharadwaj was not named in the report. She was later arrested on December 17, 2023, after allegedly obstructing ED officials during a search operation at her residence, which allowed her husband and father-in-law to evade arrest. The agency further accused her of encouraging Bitcoin investments and possessing key passwords linked to the proceeds of the crime.
Simpy Bharadwaj, however, maintained her innocence, arguing that she was not named in the initial FIRs and was arrested solely for hindering the search operation. She contended that the ED lacked substantial evidence to directly link her to the crime.
Justice Pitale, reviewing the grounds for her arrest, noted that the allegations against Bharadwaj were “drafted in a hurry” and lacked credible material to justify her detention. He observed discrepancies in the timeline of the FIRs and ECIR registration, supporting Bharadwaj’s claim that her arrest violated Section 19 of the PMLA.
With these findings, the High Court granted Bharadwaj bail, bringing temporary relief to her in the ongoing investigation.
