- Indian law enforcement has arrested Shailesh Babulal on charges of kidnapping two people
- This was the result of his lost investment in the BitConnect Ponzi Scheme
- He demanded 2,091 Bitcoin, 11,000 Litecoin, and $1.7 million
A major kidnapping case is underway in India for two people to extort lost assets after the Bitconnect collapse.
The accused was Shailesh Babulal, who tried to “return” the assets and demanded 2,091 Bitcoin, 11,000 Litecoin, and US$1.7 million.
Bitconnect Kidnapping Case Investigation Details
On August 13, Shailesh Babulal Bhatt was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which launched a major investigation.
It was revealed that he lost significant funds by investing in BitConnect Coin (BCC), which is linked to the closed BitConnect platform.
After failing to receive compensation, he decided to reclaim them by force, recruiting accomplices to whom he paid $34 million, which in turn was used to purchase real estate, gold, and other assets.
Two BitConnect employees were kidnapped, for whom he expected to receive 2,091 bitcoins, 11,000 Litecoins, and about $1.7 million.
Enforcement Directorate (ED) of Ahmedabad seized property worth $52 million, but the investigation continues and is growing with new details.
Response to BitConnect Ponzi Scheme
In turn, a large investigation continues into the case of the closed BitConnect and BitConnect Coin recognized as a Ponzi scheme.
Its closure in 2018 resulted in colossal losses for the entire crypto sector, where 4,000 people from 95 countries lost their funds for a total of $2.4 billion.
Although the investigation continues and charges have been filed, the location of the founder Satish Kumbhani, remains unknown, and justice is only waiting for him.
Conclusion
Even though the crypto industry is currently experiencing particularly rapid adaptation and is subject to a much larger number of regulators than even 5 years ago, it remains very young and subject to risks.
There are still many people willing to exploit it, and user awareness is not yet high enough for such cases not to be so large-scale.
However, many initiatives are being taken, both by regulators through the adaptation of legislation and by crypto projects themselves through technology improvement.
Let’s hope that security and awareness will grow and that we will not see such large-scale cases and desperate actions in the future.
