ED Raids Audit Firm Employee Gaurav Mehta as Bitcoin Scam Row Spirals

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday (November 20) is conducting raids at the premises of audit firm employee Gaurav Mehta in connection with the alleged Bitcoin Scam involving NCP-SP Supriya Sule and state Congress chief Nana Patole. This comes on the same day as polling is underway across Maharashtra for 288 Assembly seats.Gaurav Mehta, the name came under the spotlight after former IPS officer Ravindranath Patil named him as a key witness in the 2018 cryptocurrency fraud case.The former senior official alleged that Sule and Patole allegedly misappropriated bitcoins from the 2018 case and used the same fund to influence the outcome of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.On the eve of the Maharashtra polls, in a late evening press conference, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi claimed to expose Maha Vikas Aghadi ‘bit by bit’. The saffron party presented an alleged ‘video and audio’ in which a female voice, allegedly of Sule, where she can be heard saying, "Need cash in exchange for bitcoins. You need not worry about any inquiry; we will handle it once we come to power."In the alleged video shared with media by the BJP, Sule is allegedly speaking to Mehta, an employee of the Sarathi Association. Note: Republic Media Network, across platforms and mediums of operation, cannot vouch for the authenticity of the alleged audio tapes, screenshots and recordings as released by the BJP.The Bharatiya Janata Party also shared alleged screenshots of Signal chats between Gaurav Mehta, an employee of audit firm Sarathi Associates and ex-IPS Ravindranath Patil.Sule Denies AllegationsAmid the alleged "Bitcoin scam" Sule on Wednesday dismissed the allegations, saying that the voice in the audio clip played by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar does not belong to her.Meanwhile, denying all the charges, Supriya Sule in a post on X said, "I deny all the allegations levelled against me by Sudhanshu Trivedi. All this is conjecture and innuendo, and I am ready for a debate with any representative of the BJP at a time and date of their choice, in a public forum. It’s appalling that such baseless allegations are made by Mr Sudhanshu Trivedi, yet not surprising as it’s a clear case of spreading false information, the night before elections. My lawyer will be issuing a criminal &amp; civil defamation notice against Sudhanshu Trivedi for making outrightly false allegations with an intent to deceive the public at large." She also stated that they have filed a criminal complaint to the ECI &amp; the Cybercrime department against the allegations. "Familiar tactics of spreading false information to manipulate the righteous voters are being resorted to, a night before the polling day. We have filed a criminal complaint to the Hon’ble ECI &amp; the Cyber crime department against the fake allegations made of bitcoin misappropriation. The intent and mala fide actors behind it are amply evident, condemn worthy that such practices are taking place in a healthy democracy guided by the Constitution of India", Sule said in a tweet on X.

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ED Raids Audit Firm Employee Gaurav Mehta as Bitcoin Scam Row Spirals

ED is conducting raids at the premises of audit firm employee Gaurav Mehta in connection with the alleged Bitcoin Scam involving Sule and Patole

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