CBI Arrests Key Accused Involved in Multi-Thousand-Crore Gainbitcoin Cryptocurrency Scam

Three persons are arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for their alleged role in the GainBitcoin cryptocurrency fraud case.

The arrested person, Ayush Varshney, is the co-founder and CTO of Darwin Labs Private Limited. He is accused of having a key role in operating the fraud scheme that misled many investors.

The CBI is investigating the case under Sections 120B, 406, and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as Section 66 of the Information Technology Act.

The case is related to the GainBitcoin Ponzi scheme, run by Variabletech Pte. Ltd., which promised investors huge returns on cryptocurrency investments. However, the money collected from the investors was allegedly being misused.

The investigation is followed by an order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India directing the CBI to investigate the FIRs related to similar allegations in the GainBitcoin fraud.

The CBI investigation revealed that Darwin Labs Private Limited and its co-founders, including Varshney, Sahil Baghla and Nikunj Jain, were responsible for designing, developing, and deploying the crypto token known as MCAP and the ERC-20 smart contract. Darwin Labs was involved in developing the entire technological infrastructure of the fraud, including the Bitcoin mining pool platform GBMiners.com, BitCoin Payment Gateway, Coin Bank BitCoin Wallet and the Gain BitCoin investor facing website.

Varshney was on the run, and a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him. On March 9, 2026, he was caught by immigration authorities in Mumbai while he was trying to leave the country. He was handed over to the CBI and arrested the following day.