New Delhi, Jul 13 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Monday said it has attached bank deposits and more than a dozen shops and flats in Mumbai, all valued at Rs 55.50 crore, as part of a money laundering probe into an alleged cryptocurrency fraud.

The properties belong to Jewria Services Club India, Viva Card Retail Services, Subhashchandra Ramratan Jewria, and Chirag Ramratan Jewria, who floated the cryptocurrency ATC Coin, it said.

The assets have been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it said.

The 2021 money laundering case stems from a 2017 FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police.

The agency alleged that the Jewrias induced the public to make investments through assurances of "high" and "assured" returns.

In all, they collected Rs 84 crore from investors and deposited the sum in the bank account of Jewria Services Club India, it said.

The funds were "diverted" through several bank accounts of the accused, associated entities, including Viva Card Retail Services, and a part of it was used to acquire four residential flats and 11 commercial 'Galas' (shops), the ED said. PTI NES VN VN

Cryptocurrency investment fraud allegations trigger PMLA provisional attachment of bank deposits, flats, and commercial shops linked to diverted funds. The Enforcement Directorate reported a money-laundering investigation into an alleged cryptocurrency fraud involving ATC Coin. It alleged that investors were induced to contribute funds through assurances of high and assured returns, and that the collections were deposited with Jewria Services Club India before being diverted through accounts of the accused and associated entities. Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, bank deposits and Mumbai properties comprising residential flats and commercial shops were provisionally attached.