India's Enforcement Directorate arrests suspected kidnappers and extortionists in $144 million crypto crime case

India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) said a Gujarat man, Shailesh Babulal Bhatt, was arrested for kidnapping and extortion and violation of anti-money laundering laws in a major cryptocurrency-related crime of more than $144 million. Bhatt was detained following a money laundering investigation launched by the Indian Ministry of Justice based on the first filing by the Surat police against Bitconnect Coin promoter Satish Kumbhani. Kumbhani allegedly cheated investors and fled after shutting down the Bitconnect platform in January 2018. Bhatt had invested in Bitconnect and in order to recover the funds, he kidnapped two of Kumbhani's employees and extorted 2,091 Bitcoins, 11,000 Litecoins and Rs 145 million in cash, which is worth Rs 12.325 billion today. Bhatt also distributed Rs 2.89 billion of the extortion funds to his accomplices for the acquisition of various assets. (Bitcoin.com)