Odaily News Indian authorities have seized nearly $190 million in cryptocurrency tied to Bitconnect in an ongoing investigation into a crypto Ponzi scheme that was uncovered in 2018 and caused 4,000 investors in 95 countries to lose about $2.4 billion. Bitconnect was launched in 2016 and collapsed in 2018.
It is understood that Bitconnect founder Satish Kumbhani (charged by the US Department of Justice in February 2022) established a global network of promoters and paid them commissions to promote the Ponzi scheme. (Cointelegraph)
Last August, the Indian Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that a man named Shailesh Babulal Bhatt from Gujarat was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and extortion and violating anti-money laundering laws. The incident involved a major cryptocurrency-related crime of more than US$144 million.
Bhatt’s detention follows a money laundering investigation launched by the Indian Justice Department based on the first filing by the Surat police against Bitconnect Coin promoter Satish Kumbhani, who allegedly defrauded investors and fled after shutting down the Bitconnect platform in January 2018.
Bhatt had invested in Bitconnect and in order to recover the funds, he kidnapped two employees of Kumbhani and extorted 2,091 Bitcoins, 11,000 Litecoins and Rs 145 million in cash, which is now worth Rs 1,232.5 billion. Bhatt also distributed Rs 289 million of the extortion money to his accomplices to acquire various assets.