Indian Authorities Seize Nearly $190 Million in Cryptocurrency Related to Bitconnect Case

BlockBeats News, February 16th, according to Cointelegraph, Indian authorities seized nearly $190 million in cryptocurrency related to the Bitconnect case, which had led to approximately $2.4 billion in losses for 4,000 investors in 95 countries/regions. After its launch in 2016, Bitconnect's founder, Satish Kumbhani (charged by the U.S. Department of Justice in February 2022), established a global promoter network, paying commissions to promoters to sustain the Ponzi scheme. Kumbhani fled after shutting down the platform in January 2018.

In August last year, a man named Bhatt from Gujarat, India, was arrested for alleged kidnapping for ransom and violations of anti-money laundering laws. Bhatt had invested in Bitconnect and, in an attempt to recover his funds, kidnapped two of Kumbhani's employees, extorting 2091 Bitcoins, 11000 Litecoins, and 145 million rupees, now valued at 1.2325 billion rupees. The funds involved in the case were confiscated by Indian authorities after Bhatt's arrest.