An Indian anti-corruption court has sentenced 14 people — including 11 police officers and a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA — to life imprisonment for kidnapping and extorting cryptocurrency from a Surat-based businessman in 2018.
The verdict, delivered on Friday by Special Judge B.B. Jadav in Ahmedabad, found the group guilty of criminal conspiracy, kidnapping for ransom, illegal detention, and assault, according to The Times of India.
Those convicted include former Amreli district superintendent of police Jagdish Patel and ex-MLA Nalin Kotadiya. All 11 police personnel, including Patel, were also convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act for abuse of authority.
The case involved businessman Shailesh Bhatt, who had managed to recover part of his lost investment in the now-defunct $900 million BitConnect scheme from developer Dhaval Mavani in the form of Bitcoin, before being targeted in the extortion plot.
Surat businessman kidnapped over Bitcoin
After learning that businessman Shailesh Bhatt had managed to recover part of his lost investment, former BJP MLA Nalin Kotadiya and senior police officials in Amreli allegedly conspired to seize his cryptocurrency. On February 11, 2018, Bhatt was abducted and unlawfully confined at Keshav Farm near Gandhinagar.
The abduction was led by Amreli Local Crime Branch inspector Anant Patel, with the involvement of several other officers. During his captivity, Bhatt was beaten and forced to confess that he had received 752 Bitcoin from BitConnect developer Dhaval Mavani, of which 176 were stored with his associate, Kirit Paladiya. The rest had been sold for nearly $5 million.
Bhatt was freed only after agreeing to part with some of the Bitcoin and $3.6 million in cash. When that deal collapsed, the accused compelled him to liquidate 34 Bitcoin from Paladiya’s wallet, netting them around $150,000.
Crypto extortion case leads to 15 arrests
Bhatt eventually lodged a complaint with the Union Home Ministry, sparking a probe that resulted in the arrest of 15 people. Special public prosecutor Amit Patel led the case, producing testimony from 173 witnesses during the trial.
The court also ordered the seizure of gold ornaments found in the possession of Amreli SP Jagdish Patel, directing that they be handed over to the Master of Mint in Mumbai.
In a related development last week, Thai authorities arrested a South Korean national accused of helping a call center syndicate launder over $50 million worth of cryptocurrency into gold.
