Pune, Nov 19 : Hours before the Maharashtra Assembly elections, former IPS officer Ravindra Nath Patil on Tuesday made explosive claims, alleging that NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Supriya Sule and Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole (both MVA partners) were involved in a cryptocurrency scam.

He accused the two leaders of using Bitcoin manipulation to fund election campaigns. Patil further alleged that the cash obtained from cryptocurrency dealings is being utilised in the current election campaign in Maharashtra. Similar manipulation has been resorted to during Lok Sabha elections in 2024, he added.

Speaking to IANS, Patil implicated Pune's former Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta and cybercrime investigator Bhagyashree Navatke, claiming that they were involved in the Bitcoin scam and had received protection from political leaders Sule and Patole.

Sharing the details of the whole scam, Patil explained that in 2018, his company had hired him (Patil) as a cryptocurrency expert to investigate the scam. However, in 2022, he was arrested on fraud charges and spent 14 months in jail. During this time, he was trying to ascertain as to why he was framed. He and his colleagues continued working to get to the facts. And finally, they have come across startling facts, he added.

Patil revealed that a key witness in the case, Gaurav Mehta—an employee of an audit firm—had contacted him several times in the past few days. When Patil finally responded, Mehta shared details about the 2018 cryptocurrency fraud investigation. Mehta alleged that during the arrest of Amit Bhardwaj, a cryptocurrency trader, a hardware wallet containing Bitcoin was seized.

However, according to Mehta, the wallet was replaced by another one allegedly under the direction of Amitabh Gupta, the then-Pune Police Commissioner. Mehta claimed that Patil and his colleagues were arrested unjustly, while the real culprits were Gupta and his team.

Patil also accused Mehta of naming Supriya Sule and Nana Patole in the scam. Mehta alleged that they were using the cash obtained through Bitcoin manipulation to fund election campaigns, including the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the current Maharashtra Assembly elections. Patil claimed that Mehta, under Gupta's direction, made multiple trips to Dubai to convert Bitcoin into cash, which was then used to finance election activities in Maharashtra.