Ratan Tata, an Indian business tycoon and philanthropist, has debunked reports that he has any association with cryptocurrencies. The chairman emeritus of the Tata Group warned that people stay vigilant to avoid being scammed by those making false reports in an attempt to lure unsuspecting citizens and crypto investors.
Tata shuts down crypto investment rumours
Ratan Tata took to Twitter to clarify that any reports or ads on his association with crypto were untrue and were a move to scam those who would fall for it. The 85-year-old industrialist shared a screenshot of one of the news articles that said he had made crypto investments, “leaving experts in disbelief and major banks concerned.”
In response to the news, several citizens thanked him for clarifying his stance on crypto, considering that more people need to be aware of the scams and risks of investing in the DeFi industry.
To add to that, earlier in 2015, a Silicon Valley Bitcoin startup, Abra, announced that it had received investments from American Express and Ratan Tata as part of its Series-A funding of $12 million. However, his investment has never been made public knowledge to date.
Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra also went through the same allegations in November 2021. He was accused of investing in crypto, leaving “banks terrified” and “experts in awe.” The allegations also pointed to Mahindra finding a “wealth loophole” that could make people millionaires in about three months. Mahindra later clarified and highlighted that he had not put a single rupee in cryptocurrencies.
India’s crypto market remains highly unregulated
Earlier in April, the Enforcement Directorate announced that it was investigating crypto-related fraud whereby some exchanges were allegedly involved in money laundering. Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State for Finance, stated in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that digital assets have the potential for illegal misuse.
He added that as of January 31, 2023, they had seized crime proceeds amounting to about Rs 936.89 crore, and five involved people had been arrested. There was also Rs 289.28 crore seized under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) assets.
Notably, the high number of scams in India has been due to the new inexperienced traders joining the market and the fact that the market is highly unregulated, such that the ongoing crypto fraud cases are prosecuted under existing fraud and cybercrime laws.
Crypto scams are not just rampant in India. Globally, crypto scams hit an all-time high in 2022, amounting to $2.57 billion. The amount was 37% higher than in 2021. Meanwhile, about 2 million people globally were victims to rug pull scams such as from FTX and Celcius.
Despite the high rate of scams, India has seen a lot of digital asset adoption, with the government maintaining a positive stance on digital assets. Recently, India and UAE joined forces to bring about cross-border transactions with CBDC.
