CoinDCX co-founders granted bail after court finds no prima facie case in fake-platform complaint
A magistrate court in Thane has granted bail to CoinDCX co-founders Sumit Surendra Gupta and Niraj Ashok Khandelwal in a cheating complaint that linked them to a fake platform impersonating the crypto exchange. The court, in a common order dated March 23, said the available material did not make out a prima facie case against the founders in the ₹71 lakh complaint and allowed their release on bond.
Key findings in the order
- The investigation officer recorded “no objection” to the founders’ release.
- Evidence indicated the founders were not in Mumbra when the alleged offence occurred, weakening the allegation against them.
- The court noted that “some other person by representing as accused cheated the informant,” and the informant admitted this in court—shifting focus to other individuals implicated in the fraud.
- An affidavit from the informant confirmed that another accused, identified as Rana, had repaid the lost money and that the founders were not the people he met at a café in Kausa Mumbra where the transaction took place.
- The matter was described as “amicably settled” between the informant and the main accused, and the court found no risk that the founders would interfere with witnesses or evidence if released.
Procedural details and conditions
Gupta and Khandelwal were taken for questioning and remained in custody over the weekend before their bail hearing. Each founder was released on a ₹50,000 bond and must cooperate with the ongoing investigation and trial.
Company response and wider warning
On March 24, CoinDCX posted on X that the court proceedings supported its position that the incident involved a “third-party impersonation.” The company said the fraud was executed through a lookalike site—coindcx.pro—which it said had no connection to CoinDCX’s official operations. CoinDCX used the incident to highlight a broader rise in phishing and impersonation scams targeting India’s financial and crypto sectors and urged users to verify website domains and rely only on official company channels.
What this means for users
The case underscores the growing threat of lookalike websites and impersonation scams in crypto. Exchanges and users alike are being reminded to exercise extra caution: always confirm domain names, use official apps and communication channels, and report suspicious sites or contacts to the platform and authorities.
Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news
