The Himachal Pradesh High Court has refused bail to Abhishek Sharma, a key accused in the ₹2,000 crore cryptocurrency scam that allegedly defrauded more than 80,000 investors, including over 1,000 police personnel, across Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring states.
Dismissing Sharma’s petition on Friday, Justice Sushil Kukreja said the “nature and seriousness of an economic offence and its impact on society are always important considerations” in such cases.
The bench noted that investigations “prima facie revealed that the petitioner was a close associate of the main accused, Subhash Sharma, and was one of the top liners in the chain,” adding that Subhash had already fled the country.
Sharma, a resident of Riwar village in Una district’s Bangana tehsil, has been in custody since October 28, 2023. His counsel, the court observed, had failed to present any substantial change in circumstances since his previous bail plea was rejected.
While acknowledging that undertrial prisoners have the right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution, Justice Kukreja maintained that “the mere period of incarceration or the fact that the trial is not likely to be concluded in the near future” cannot justify bail in a case involving “an economic offence of huge magnitude.”
Authorities say the alleged fraud began in 2018 but surfaced publicly after investor Arun Singh Guleria lodged an FIR on September 24, 2023, at Palampur police station. Guleria accused Subhash Sharma, along with co-accused Hem Raj and Sukhdev from Mandi, Abhishek Sharma from Una, and Milan Garg from Meerut, of orchestrating a cryptocurrency investment scheme that promised to double investors’ money.
The accused are said to have drawn investors through websites such as www.voscrow.io and platforms like Voscrow and Hypenext, offering virtual currency in exchange for their money.
The operation followed a chain-recruitment model, where existing investors were urged to bring in fresh participants. Investigators say Abhishek Sharma played a key role in pushing the scheme’s reach, hosting investor gatherings in places like Mandi, Kullu, Baddi, Chandigarh, Una, Hamirpur, and Palampur.
The Himachal Pradesh police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed on September 26, 2023, later found the accused had floated shell companies, tampered with cryptocurrency prices, and pumped investor money into property deals across Himachal, Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh. Officials allege a slice of those funds also went into buying luxury goods and high-end cars.
Except for Subhash Sharma, all principal suspects are now in custody. The court stressed that economic offences “affect the economy of the country” and must be viewed seriously, especially when large numbers of ordinary citizens are drawn in by the promise of extraordinary returns.
The trial is expected to be complex and protracted, given the number of victims, the cross-border money trail, and the involvement of digital assets. For now, Abhishek Sharma will remain behind bars as the case moves forward.
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