Sat Nov 23 11:14:12 UTC 2024: ## ED Raids Home of Audit Firm Employee in Crypto Scam Linked to Maharashtra Polls
**Raipur, Chhattisgarh –** The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a search operation today at the Raipur residence of Gaurav Mehta, an employee of an audit firm, in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency scam linked to the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections. The investigation centers on allegations that funds derived from the scam were used to influence the election results.
The probe stems from claims made by former IPS officer Ravindranath Patil, who implicated Mehta as a key witness in a 2018 cryptocurrency fraud case involving approximately Rs 6,600 crore. Patil alleges that Mehta facilitated the transfer of Bitcoin funds, obtained from the 2018 case, to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole for electoral purposes. Patil further claims that a hardware wallet containing Bitcoin was seized improperly during the initial investigation.
Sule vehemently denied the allegations today, stating that an audio clip presented as evidence containing her voice is fabricated. She called the accusations “fake.”
These developments follow accusations by the opposition against BJP general secretary in Maharashtra, Vinod Tawde, of involvement in a separate cash-for-votes scandal, charges which Tawde and the BJP have denied. The ED’s investigation is ongoing.
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