The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Atul Sood, a close associate of Subhash Sharma, in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency-based multi-level marketing fraud involving Korvio Coin and related platforms.
The arrest followed searches conducted on 28 October 2026 at premises in Chandigarh, Mohali and Zirakpur under Section 17(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. During these searches, the agency seized Rs 72 lakh in cash along with property-related documents, digital devices, bank account records and other documents.
Atul Sood was produced before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Shimla on 29 October 2026. The court granted the Enforcement Directorate custody of Sood until 5 November 2026. According to the Enforcement Directorate, Sood helped arrange conferences and other events for Subhash Sharma. He also travelled to Dubai to meet Sharma. These activities continued even after first information reports had been registered in connection with the alleged scheme.
The Enforcement Directorate has described the operation as a fictitious cryptocurrency investment scheme. Subhash Sharma has been identified as the alleged mastermind. The agency has stated that Sharma travelled to Dubai after the alleged fraud, leaving investors with substantial financial losses. Legal proceedings have been initiated against him before competent authorities.
The scale of the matter, as reported by the Enforcement Directorate, involves an estimated investor loss of around Rs 500 crore. More than 2.48 lakh users were reportedly affected. Digital data recovered during the investigation showed transactions exceeding 219 million US dollars. These figures represent different measures and are not to be added together.
Earlier searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate on 13 December 2025 covered eight premises in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. At that time the agency described the alleged fraud as involving approximately Rs 2,300 crore and identified five platforms: Korvio, Voscrow, DGT, Hypenext and A-Global. Those searches led to the freezing of three lockers and bank balances and fixed deposits totalling about Rs 1.2 crore. Property documents, investor databases, commission structures and digital devices were also seized.
Further searches linked to Vijay Kumar Juneja and Masoom Juneja took place on 15 June 2026. Masoom Juneja was arrested. The Enforcement Directorate has stated that funds collected from investors were routed to Subhash Sharma and associates including Vijay Kumar Juneja and Masoom Juneja. In July 2026 the agency arrested Milan Garg, Sukhdev Thakur and Abhishek Sharma. Hem Raj and Masoom Juneja had been arrested earlier. Prosecution complaints and supplementary prosecution complaints against Hem Raj, Sukhdev Thakur, Abhishek Sharma, Milan Garg and Masoom Juneja have been filed before the Special Court in Shimla.
The Enforcement Directorate has stated that funds collected from investors were predominantly received in cash. The money was delivered to leaders of the respective teams and ultimately routed to Subhash Sharma and his associates. A smaller portion was routed through multiple bank accounts, fictitious firms and intermediaries. Part of the money was converted into cryptocurrency. A portion was also used to acquire immovable properties. In some of these property transactions, substantial consideration was allegedly paid in cash while the registered property values were significantly lower than the actual consideration.
The December 2025 Enforcement Directorate release also recorded that despite freezing orders issued on 4 November 2023 by the competent authority, 15 plots in Zirakpur, Punjab, were sold by Vijay Juneja. The agency described these sales as being in contravention of law. The orders had been communicated to the Punjab Finance Secretary, the court and revenue authorities.
According to material placed before the Himachal Pradesh High Court in related bail proceedings, the alleged operation began around 2018 when Subhash Sharma and associates organised seminars introducing people to digital currencies, particularly Bitcoin. The activity later shifted towards their own arrangement under the name Korvio Community. Investors were encouraged to purchase proprietary digital tokens and were incentivised to bring additional investors into the network. New participants were registered using unique IDs. A binary referral structure was used to distribute commissions.
Investors were allegedly promised that their money would double. Some received distributions against their investments in the earlier phase. These payments encouraged further investment. Money collected from new participants was allegedly used to pay earlier participants. Platforms and tokens were subsequently changed or rebranded. The sequence included transitions from Korvio to Voscrow, then to DGT Coin, Hypenext and later A-Global.
In August 2021 a community meeting was organised at the Radisson Hotel in Zirakpur. Approximately 300 to 500 people attended and an entry fee of Rs 2,000 per person was charged. Subhash Sharma and Milan Garg were identified as the principal speakers. Attendees were told that DGT Coin would be exchanged for Binance Coin and would soon be listed on cryptocurrency exchanges.
A Special Investigation Team headed by the DIG of Northern Range, Dharamshala, was constituted on 26 September 2023 to investigate cryptocurrency-related fraud cases across Himachal Pradesh. On 2 October 2023 police conducted searches at the residential premises of Hem Raj and Sukhdev Thakur and arrested them. Cryptocurrency wallets were identified and digital communications, including WhatsApp chats, were recovered. Correspondence was also initiated with Binance to secure identified digital assets.
FIR No. 120 of 2023 was registered at Police Station Palampur, District Kangra, on 24 September 2023 on the complaint of Arun Singh Guleria. The FIR invoked provisions relating to cheating, criminal conspiracy, the Himachal Pradesh Protection of Interests of Depositors Act and the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act.
The Enforcement Directorate has stated that several individuals working as commission agents earned crores of rupees by bringing new investors into the arrangement. Foreign travel incentives and promotional events were used to attract investors and expand the network. The agency has also referred to the use of builders, shell entities and personal bank accounts of accused persons and their relatives in the alleged routing of funds.
The October 2026 searches formed part of a continuing investigation. Approximate movable assets seized in earlier searches on 13 December 2025 and 15 June 2026 were reported at about Rs 1.5 crore. The Rs 72 lakh seized in cash on 28 October 2026 was in addition to those earlier recoveries. The value of properties identified or attached has not been disclosed in the latest press release.
The case remains under investigation. All figures and descriptions of the operation are as reported by the Enforcement Directorate and as reflected in material placed before the courts. The allegations have not been tested through a final judicial determination of guilt.
