Ayush Varshney, co-founder of Darwin Labs, was arrested while allegedly trying to flee to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
According to the agency, Varshney was detained at the airport based on a Look Out Circular issued against him.
Investigators say the case is linked to the GainBitcoin Scheme, launched in 2015 by Amit Bhardwaj, his brother Ajay Bhardwaj, and their associates.
The scheme allegedly promised investors 10 percent monthly returns, claiming profits would come from Bitcoin mining.
Investors were asked to purchase Bitcoin through cryptocurrency exchanges and invest it on the company's platform through cloud mining contracts.
According to investigators, the scheme operated on a multi-level marketing (MLM) model, where existing investors were offered incentives for bringing in new participants. This helped the scheme spread rapidly across the country, drawing thousands of investors.
Initially, investors were paid returns in Bitcoin. However, after 2017, payouts reportedly began to slow down.
The company later started making payments in its own cryptocurrency called MCAP, which was valued far lower than Bitcoin. Agencies say this resulted in significant losses for investors and that the scheme effectively functioned as a Ponzi scheme.
