Two individuals, Avinash Singh and Ravi Thakur, were arrested in Pune on January 12th in connection with the Oris Teams cryptocurrency scam. The arrests followed a complaint from a victim identified only as a "highly educated youth." Pimpri-Chinchwad Cyber Police made the detentions, adding to previous enforcement actions against Oris Teams promoters in Maharashtra.
Authorities have specifically requested that any other victims of the Oris Teams scheme come forward and contact the cyber police without delay. The ongoing investigation seeks to dismantle the network behind the fraudulent operation.
Oris Teams operated as a multilevel marketing Ponzi scheme centered on a digital asset called Oris Coin. The scheme utilized a "staking" model to solicit investments from participants, promising high returns. The founders of Oris Teams, Rahul Khurana and Tarun Trikha, remain at large and are wanted by Indian law enforcement.
Despite the arrests and ongoing investigations, promotional activity for Oris Teams, now often rebranded as "Oris Coin," appears to persist in India. Website traffic analysis from December 2024 indicated approximately 2,700 monthly visits to the Oris Teams website, with all traffic originating from within India. This suggests that individuals involved in the scheme may still be attempting to recruit new investors or offload worthless Oris Coins.
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Cyber Police continue to investigate the full scope of the Oris Teams operation. The case builds upon a broader crackdown on cryptocurrency-related fraud within India, highlighting the persistent threat of Ponzi schemes in the digital asset space.