The BitConnect founder has landed in serious legal trouble. For those who do not know, BitConnect is an open-source cryptocurrency, connected to a kind of Ponzi Scheme. It was launched initially on the 15th of February, 2016. Satish Kumbhani is the BitConnect founder. However, this platform did not enjoy a prolonged existence. In fact, on the 17th of January 2018, the platform was closing down as the price of BCC declines by 92%, immediately following the closure of the platform.
However, even after the closure of the platform, new troubles seem to plague the BitConnect founder, Satish Kumbhani. Recently, the Indian Express published a report stating that n investigation has been launched by the authorities in the country against Kumbhani. In fact, there are allegations of defrauding a person out of 220 Bitcoin. In addition, the U.S. courts have already found him guilty of supporting a worldwide Ponzi scheme worth $2.4 billion. If you wish to know more about the case involving the BitConnect founder, then keep reading this article.
The Allegation by BitConnect founder
The Indian authorities have launched an investigation against Kumbhani and six other suspects. A complaint was lodged against the accused with the Indian authorities by an Indian national. According to the complaint registered with the authorities, the complainant invested 54 Bitcoin, in a scheme that promised him 166 BTC in return. The allegation against the BitConnect founder and the six other accused is that they defrauded the entire amount of 220 BTC.
The complainant filed the complaint in the past week. Following the complaint, the Indian authorities started to investigate the alleged scam. They also started investigating the location of the suspects in this case. Till now, the investigation is going on and any finding is yet to come forward. However, Kumbhani has already been accused of wire fraud and price manipulation in the U.S. In addition there are also charges of operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering against him in the U.S.
If Kumbhani is extradites to the U.S. he could face a sentence that might see him behind the bars for 70 years. In fact, the FBI and the IRS are tracking the activities of BitConnect carefully. Therefore, if Kumbhani and the other accused get caught, heavy punishments await them both in India and abroad.
Concluding Lines
BitConnect promised returns from their “BitConnect Trading Bot”, and their “Volatility Software”, in order to attract victims. The platform cleverly used the investment fund to generate profit and to pay off early investors. Then they used to steal the capital of the recent investors. In fact, such crypto scams have flooded the market in recent times. Many victims have lost their fortune to scammers. However, the number of such scams has seen a steady decline in the past few weeks. In the first half of 2021, the scams accounted for over $4 billion. However, at present, the total scam amount is around 1.6 billion. Thus the decline is really significant. However, the offenders like the BitConnect founder should never do any further scams on their part.
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