India Cárcera 14 for life in the case of cryptographic extortion that involves the police, ex-mla

An Indian Anti -Corruption Court has sentenced 14 men to life imprisonment for the kidnapping and extortion of a 2018 business man for his cryptocurrency holdings.

The convicted include 11 police officers and former legislators, Nalin Kotadiya, which served in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from 2012 to 2017, according to local media.

The group was declared guilty of kidnapping, extortion and conspiracy in several sections of the Indian Criminal Code. The sentence was transmitted by the special judge BB Jadav in Ahmedabad.

The Indian entrepreneur attracted and kidnapped in the Cryptographic Extortion plot

The case is derived from the kidnapping of Shailesh Bhatt, a Surrat businessman, who according to the reports was attracted to a service station on February 9, 2018, by men who intend to be official of the central investigation office of India.

Once there, Bhatt was taken to a farm near Gandhinagar and retained at gunpoint by police officers demanding cryptocurrencies and effective.

Bhatt was forced to sell 34 bitcoin, for an approximate value of $ 150,000 at that time, and transfer the funds to their captors.

There was also a greater demand of 176 BTC and 32 million rupees (approximately $ 3.6 million) in cash, but the messaging service that delivered the cash suspected a configuration and could not complete the fall.

Prosecutors brought 172 witnesses during the trial, including specialists in digital forensics and bank officials.

However, 92 of those witnesses then retracted or altered their testimony. Judge Jadav responded by issuing perjury notices 25 of them, citing concerns about the manipulation of witnesses and the obstruction of justice.

The 11 police officers were also convicted under the Law of Corruption Prevention of India for the misuse of the official post.

Kotadiya, who had evaded the police for months, was finally arrested in September 2018.

The case also highlights Bhatt himself, who currently faces legal procedures for his supposed role in another kidnapping related to cryptography.

The authorities claim that Bhatt kidnapped two promoters of Bitconnect and extorted thousands of Bitcoin and Litecoin, along with more than ₹ 14 million rupees in cash.

It was arrested in August 2024 by the direction of compliance with India for positions that include kidnapping and money laundering.

Network of Cryptographic Fraud of Ed Raids of India linked to a Bitcoin fraud of $ 29 million

Earlier this month, the India Compliance Directorate (ED) raided 11 locations in all cities, including Delhi, in relation to a global cryptographic fraud scheme. The repression followed FIRS presented by the CBI and Delhi police.

According to the officials, the defendant passed through agents of application of the law or technical support to extort the money of Indian and foreign citizens.

The researchers revealed that the scammers accumulated more than $ 29 million in Bitcoin, which later became USDT and was settled through Hawala channels in the EAU.

The raids, carried out under the Law of Money Laundering (PMLA), individuals and operators led to the scheme.

The operation occurs shortly after another ED probe in a separate cryptographic scam of $ 4.7 million that involves a counterfeit coinbase website.

Assets by value of ₹ 42.8 million rupees, including 18 bank loans and credits, were provisionally seized of the accused ChiG Tomo and its associates. Coindcx has been appointed to administer digital assets seized in the midst of the broader repression.

The post Indian publication 14 for life in the case of cryptographic extortion that involves police, ex-mla first appeared in Cryptonews.