Indian authorities seek the creator of BitConnect in an investigation involving over $5 million in Bitcoin

Indian police are searching for Satish Kumbhani, the creator of the cryptocurrency investing protocol BitConnect, in relation to a Bitcoin-related fraud.

Indian Express stated on August 18 that Kumbhani is being sought after a complaint was filed against him for scamming a man of around 220 Bitcoins ($4.7 million) in the expansive city of Pune.

A lawyer from Pune filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the police, alleging that the accused robbed him of the 54 Bitcoins he had originally invested. Notably, authorities prepare the submission under the First Information Report only after verifying that the complaint fulfils the minimum conditions for an official inquiry.

The attorney who requested anonymity accused Kumbhani and six others of robbing him of the earnings on 166 BTC re-invested on various platforms between 2016 and 2021.

Kumbhani increasing legal difficulties

Notably, since February, Kumbhani has been on the run after being convicted in a $2.4 billion Ponzi scheme involving U.S. investors. U.S. officials indicated in a court statement that Kumbhani had likely gone from India and his whereabouts were unknown.

It is worth noting that BitConnect’s open-source, decentralised cryptocurrency, Bitconnect Coin, was promoted to investors worldwide. The tokens would then be lent to Bitconnect through a lending scheme. In exchange, Bitconnect would spend the funds on trade-automating and profit-generating proprietary technological solutions.

Nevertheless, according to the authorities, the money was not exchanged as promised but rather used to pay off earlier investors.

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